Power Rangers Delta Force
by Seedative
Summary: An intergalactic Council is planning to strip Earth of it's resources. However, one line of defense stands in there way. The Power Rangers Delta Force! Can these new Rangers band together and combat the Morpher-destabilizing Exos the Bounty Hunter?
1. Delta Force Intro

"Exos. Bounty hunter from planet Torren. Found guilty of ten counts of treason and wanted on fifteen different planets. You have been brought before this council to face judgement." The tall figure, hands held in front of him, restrained by a pair of Plasma-cuffs, looks up at the creature sitting in the chair. The brim of his cowboy-like hat covered most of his eyes and his bandana covered the wicked grin on his face. He took two steps forward, his boots clicking on the durable steel floor of the Intergalactic Conquest Council. They were the leaders of a mission fifty planets strong. Their mission was simple; collect resources for colonization. Water, Oxygen and other requirements for living were stripped from planet after planet. Why this involved him, he had no clue. But Exos kept his chest puffed out and his head held high. He gave a nod towards the elderly looking alien sitting in the gold throne, saying "Yea. What about it? What's my charge now?" The elderly alien looked down and said "Punishment? No, we did not bring you here for punishment. We are passing judgement indeed, but your sentence will be no punishment." Exos took a few steps closer, cocking an eyebrow. The elder smiled and sat back in his chair. "Good. Now that I've caught your attention, this is your sentence. The council has set its eyes on a new planet. A planet in the 6,892nd galaxy. It is full of resources that we need for our next colony. However, there is one… unexpected obstacle. This planet has protectors unlike anything the council has seen. Guardians of red, blue, yellow, green and pink color. They are known around the galaxy as "Power Rangers". They pose a threat to our mission. So! We would like you to go to earth and bring this task force to us. From there on, we will take care of them." Exos rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmm… And how do you expect me to do that? I ain't got any of my weapons OR my bandits. I'm alone and weaponless." The elder stood up and said "You're Bandits will be freed from prison to help you with your mission and your Eon Hand Cannon will be given back to you. We have made some modifications to your weapon to help you combat the rangers. Now enough blabbering! What do you say?" Exos looked down, thinking things over. He gave a smirk, looked up at the elder and said "I say you've got yourself a deal."


	2. Delta Force: The Beginning

"… So, in conclusion. I learned one thing from deciding to become a farmer. I learned that, just when you are getting comfortable, life likes to throw you a curveball. More times than not, you will hate what it throws you. But sometimes, occasionally, the curveball you get ends up become this little thing called destiny." The boy smiled and looked at his class. They were… almost all asleep. _Great. Nobody can say my speech was bad, cuz nobody stayed up long enough to hear it,_ the boy thought to himself. At least two people were still awake. There was Christopher Corso. The boy took off his blue and black stripped hat, laughing. Chris uses the hat to cup his mouth, saying "Nice speech! I didn't realize we still HAD naptime in high school." He shook his head at Chris's comment. That guy was a jerk to everyone, which only made his comment hurt a little less. At least Chris wasn't just picking on HIM. The teacher stood up from behind her desk and picked up a textbook. Slamming it down on one of the student's desk, the entire class jerked awake. As tired groans rumbled through the classroom, the teacher said, "We DON'T have naptime Mr. Corso." She then turned to him and said "Alright Seth. Thank you for the speech, you can sit down now." He shrugs and walks to his seat. Setting his notecards on his desk, he took his seat next to the only other person still awake. Lisa Pilkinton, one of his friends from all the way back in fourth grade. She straightened out her yellow shirt and looked over in his direction. "Hey," She said, tapping him on the shoulder, "Don't let what Chris says getcha down. He's just upset because he doesn't own any color besides blue in his wardrobe." A scoff comes from the back of the classroom, followed by a voice. "Yeah? Is that right, bumblebee? Well that's because blue is the best color out there." Seth smiles and cocks an eyebrow. Popping his jacket color up, he says "I dunno. I've always been sorta partial to red." Chris leans back in his seat and says "Hmpf. Maybe that's why I never liked you." Seth was about to protest when the shrill ringing of a bell sounded throughout the classroom. Chris was the first out of the door, placing his hat back on his head and rushing out like he had somewhere to be. Seth picked up his red and black backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He waits for Lisa and opens the closed door.

As the door swings open, a loud thud followed by and "AH!" is heard. Seth, confused for a second, looks behind the door. Sprawled out on the floor was a boy with papers spread everywhere. Seth's eyes open wide as he realized what had happened. He had just hit the boy with the door. The boy who had just been hit quickly sits up, scrambling to find the glasses that had fallen off his face. Upon finding them, he quickly cleaned the lenses on his green and white striped shirt. Placing them back on his face, the boy blinked up at Seth. "S-sorry. I-I didn't see you open the door." The boy said, standing up from his sitting position and brushing himself off. Seth knelt down and began gathering the papers. "No, no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have opened the door so rashly." The boy in the green shirt knelt down and started helping Seth pick up his papers. Seth shot a glance at the boy and said "No, no. I got it." The boy who had gotten hit stands back up, leaving the papers in a neat pile. Lisa taps the boy on the shoulder and says "Hey, don't take it too seriously kid. Seth here just likes to work alone. It's almost as if he's allergic to getting help from other people." Seth stands up and hands the boy his green backpack back. "Not true! Don't listen to anything she says… Umm… What is your name again," Seth asks, not knowing the boy? The boy grabbed his backpack and said "M-my name is Alex. Alex Martinez." Seth extended a hand and Alex shook it back. "Nice to meet you Alex. My name is Seth and this is a good friend of mine, Lisa." Alex smiled and said "It was nice to meet you both. And thanks for the help with my papers." Seth nods and then hears a beeping sound. Alex's eyes go wide and he looks at his watch. "Oh shoot! I'm late to my next class!" The boys eyes shot towards Seth as he says "Hey! I'm sorry! I have to get to my next class. I'll uh… See you around." The boy gave a wave, turned right around and dashed down the hallway. The boy ran so fast, Seth could have sworn that something was chasing Alex. Seth looked down and laughed. Lisa laughed too and then looked towards Seth. "So," she says, putting an arm on his shoulder, leaning against him, "You headed to Botany?" Seth nods and says "You know it. Only blow-off class for the semester. Then I'm headed home." Lisa nods and says "Sweet! I'll check ya after school. I'll swing by your place." Seth nods and waves goodbye to his friend. He made his way down the hallway towards the school's greenhouse.

There wasn't much to look forward to in Botany. For starters, it was a REALLY small class. There were only 7 kids in the class. Two preppy cheerleaders, two kids who do nothing but play on their handheld game systems, Noah Burno, Stephanie Ciapolla and himself. Noah was sort of a klutz, always good for a good laugh. Like the time he tried to impress one of the cheerleaders by giving them a rose, but forgot to remove the thorns first. The only other person he even cared to know was Stephanie. She had one of the best green thumbs Seth had ever seen. You could give her a pot filled with nothing but rocks and that girl could show you how to grow a rose in that same pot. As a matter of fact, once he came into the classroom, Stephanie was hard at work. She was on her knees, shoveling potting soil from a bag into a small pot, a tiny tulip growing out of the soil that was already in the pot. He took his red jacket off and hung it up, grabbing one of the black aprons the teacher had them wear. "Afternoon Steph," he said, grabbing some bags of potting soil and carrying them over to where the redhead was working. She looked up at him, brushing hair out of her eyes. A bright smile crossed her face, one she always wore. Stephanie was always smiling at SOMETHING. "Why thank you Seth! I didn't need any more soil, but I'm sure Mrs. Damacio appreciates it." Seth smiled and set down the soil. Looking around, his hands on his hips, Seth says "Hey. You seen Noah?" Stephanie shook her head and took off her pink gardening gloves. "No. I don't think I have. Last I heard, he was going to the bathroom."

Seth looked towards the door right in time to see the boy rush in. He slammed the door shut and stood on the other end. The boy fixed his glasses, points at Seth and says "Hey! You didn't see me!" With those words, he ran into the tool closet and closed the door. Seth looked quizzically down at Stephanie and she looked back. Suddenly, the door bursts open. Chris busted in, face red and the bottom half of his pants soaking wet. His eyes shot around the room and landed right on Seth and Stephanie. He stomped forward, adjusted his navy-blue shirt, and slowly said "Where. Did. He. Go?" Seth shrugs and Stephanie stands up. The rivalry was reborn once again. Throughout the school, there was one person that Chris could never completely pester. That person, was Stephanie Ciapolla. She smirked and said "You know Chris. Maybe if you asked nicely, then we would tell you." Chris's eyes twitched, shocked someone had defied him. Every time Stephanie challenges Chris, he gets this same look. Chris let out a yell and stomps repeatedly on a bag of potting soil. Seth and Stephanie recoil with each stomp. Finally, Chris stopped his tantrum and looked at Seth and Stephanie. "Look. I hear that EITHER of you knew where Noah went, you're both DEAD!" With that threat, Chris stormed out of the room. Seth let out a sigh and yelled out "Noah! You can come out now!" The boy that was in the tool closet slowly opened the door. His head poked out, looking left and right. After seeing that the coast was clear, he stepped out. Brushing himself off, he said "Whew… THAT was a close one!" Seth cocked an eyebrow and said "Alright. Don't get too complicated. Just tell me. What did you do THIS time?" Stephanie stood up. She took off her apron and hung it up. Grabbing her pink beanie off the coat hanger, she placed it on her head. She stood next to Seth as Noah said "Well. I might have, Sort of, maybe flooded the bathroom while Chris was in there." Seth and Stephanie began laughing. Seth, trying to catch his breath, said, "Oh Noah, you are too much sometimes." Noah shrugged just as the bell rang. Seth smiled. Patting Stephanie on the back and Noah on the shoulder, he says "Well! Time for me to go home! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Stephanie smiled and Noah waved, saying "See ya later dude." With that, Seth left the room, making his way down to his locker.

As he got to his locker, he turned the dial to the right combination. 07-03-03. He opened his locker and started pulling out books. Kneeling to start putting things in his backpack, he reached up to the top shelf of his locker. Then he froze, dead in his tracks. As he was reaching on the top shelf of his locker, he had felt something… strange. It felt round... two round cylinders that felt like a polished tile floor. He stood up to get a look at the strange item. He was right, it WAS two cylinders. They were stuck together like an un-opened scroll. He examined the object, running a finger over its smooth, red surface. He looked and on it, he saw the number 5 in a gold border. He blinked and his finger traced up it. As soon as his finger contacted the golden number, his head got an ear-splitting ringing. His brain temporarily blacked out and he saw a series of images rush through his head. He was at the mouth of a deep cave, red rocks covering the entrance. The images zoomed through the cave. He came to a fork in the road. A light shown towards the entrance where the red rocks continued. The images zoomed through the cave until it got to a wide room. Everything inside was a shiny white. The images slowed down as a figure came into view. It was a man in a white robe, a weird symbol on his forehead. The figure turned around and said, "It is time, Seth." As soon as those words were said, the images rapidly zoomed in reverse until he was woken up, back to consciousness. He awoke with a gasp, looking around. Nobody had seen him black out and he jumped up. Looking around, sweat trailing down his forehead, he felt something in his hand. As he looked down, he saw that the scroll-like object was still in his hand. He threw it back in his locker, recoiling in fear. Slamming his locker shut, he put his back to it. Taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to compose his thoughts. After a few seconds of reconciling, he took a deep breath. Standing up, he opened his locker. As he opened it, he stared down the object that was still sitting in his locker. He shook his head and grabbed the object. Throwing it in his backpack, he slammed his locker shut and started walking towards the parking lot. He didn't know what had just happened or what the object in his backpack was. All he knows is that it knew his name. And he wanted to know why.


	3. Delta Force: The Map

He tried to stay focused on his drive home, keeping his eyes on the road. But no matter how hard he tried, his eyes kept wandering back to his backpack. Back to the place where that strange object resided. _What ARE you?_ He asks the object silently. He shook his head, trying to shake himself out of it. As he pulled up to his driveway, he saw something that gave him some relief. Standing there in her yellow shirt was Lisa, leaning up against her black and yellow bike. He put his car in park and stepped out onto his gravel driveway. Seth hops out of his red truck and grabs his backpack, closing the door behind him. Lisa came around and hugged him, saying "Hey there. Something happen? It normally doesn't take you that long to get home." He gulped and simply shook his head. Deciding to keep his… discovery a secret, he replies, "Oh, I uh… I just got into some traffic." Lisa cocks an eyebrow and then shrugs. "Well, at least you're here now." She says, walking over to grab her backpack. Seth followed her, slinging his own backpack over his shoulder. As soon as Lisa brought her backpack within five feet of Seth's, his mind shattered again with the same ear-splitting headache. He grabbed the sides of his head and sunk to the ground, the same images flashing through his head. The red rocks, the fork in the cave's path, the white room and the same figure telling him that "It's time". As he regained consciousness, he looked directly at Lisa. She was hunched over on the ground, grabbing the sides of her head. Breathing heavily, he got up and weakly stumbled over towards her. Placing a hand on her trembling shoulder, Seth said "Lisa? Lisa! Are you alright?" Lisa stopped her trembling and just sat hunched over for a second. Her eyes blinked up towards him. Breathing heavily as well, she says "What… What was that?" Seth helped her to her feet and said "Here. Come inside… We need to talk." Lisa nodded before following him inside.

"So… Care to explain what just happened to me," Lisa asked, jumping up to sit on the counter. Seth went into the fridge and grabbed two waters. He threw one to her and grabbed one out for himself. After taking a drink, he says, "So, when you got your headache just now… what did you see?" Lisa catches the water and looks at the bottle in her hand. She shrugged and said "I don't really know what it meant, but I started on a cliff next to these beautiful yellow sunflowers. It leads me down the cliff, past a bush with orange berries on it and to the mouth of a cave made completely out of red rocks." Seth almost spit out the water that was currently in his mouth. After swallowing hard, he said "R-red rocks? Lisa… My visons BEGIN at the mouth of a cave made entirely of red rocks." Lisa's eyes went wide and she let out to or three deep breaths. Seth sets his water bottle down and jogs over to his backpack. He reaches in and pulls out his closed scroll-like object. He sets the object on the counter. Looking over at Lisa, he says "Does THIS mean anything to you?" The girl's eyes stared at the object on the counter, a look of absolute shock written in her pupils. She leans to her side, opening her backpack. She pulls out an object, holding it in the air. It looked exactly like Seth's red…thing, but it was yellow. A glittering gold 4 was at the top, just like his number 5. Seth gulps and says "What… what is going on?" Lisa placed the object in her lap and says "I don't know, Seth… I don't know. But if we are going to investigate, I suggest we start at the school. That's where we found these things and that's where we'll most likely find answers." Seth nods and says, "I'll grab my keys. Let's get this over with." Leaving their backpacks and pocketing their objects, they left for North High.

Luckily for them, some of the clubs were still having meetings after school. The two of them walked through the hallways and towards Seth's locker. Seth opened his locker and the two of them examined it. "I… I don't get it. My locker looks normal. No clues or anything." Lisa ran her fingers across the surface, as if she was looking for something. Seth scratched the back of his head, confused. Lisa stood up and slammed his door shut. She turned to him and said "Hey. Let's go check out my locker. Maybe there's a clue in there or something." Seth nods and the two make their way out of the locker bay and into the hallway. As they walk, Seth sees a figure in the distance. As the boy down the hallway comes into view, his blue shirt glinted off the sunlight. Seth rolled his eyes. "Great. Here comes Chris," he mutters. Walking at the same speed as Chris, the three of them were only about six feet away. Chris opens his mouth to say something before he recoils back, grabbing the sides of his head. Lisa and Seth both simultaneously get their ear-splitting headaches, collapsing to their knees. After the images subside in Seth's head, he looks at Chris. The boy in blue was pounding the tile floor with his fist, wriggling on the floor. Lisa, using Seth as support, stands up and walks towards Chris. She stumbles over to the boy and places a hand on the boy's back. As soon as her hand contacted his back, Chris lashed out. Springing to life, he tore Lisa to the ground, holding her by her yellow shirt. Red in the face, Chris shook her, yelling "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?" Seth ran over and shoved Chris from Lisa, standing in-between the two of them. Seth holds out two hands, telling them both to silently stay back. His eyes darted to Chris, who was breathing heavily. "ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Seth says, pointing towards Chris, "Listen Chris. We are going through the same thing. We are only here to figure out what is causing these episodes!" Chris's nostrils flared and began digging in his pocket. "You wanna know what is causing these headaches? THIS," with that word, Chris pulled out an object that looked identical to Seth's and Lisa's, but his was blue, "THIS is what's causing my headaches! I tried to get rid of it, I did. I threw it out the window of my house. But as soon as I went back inside, it reappeared in my pocket! Then I got my head flash. I was by that stupid lightning-struck tree with blue moss on it, I went through a grove of pine trees until I got to a small lake with green water. Then suddenly, I'm back. I thought that I could try and find some answers." Chris held his object higher, the sun glinting off a golden number 2. Lisa suddenly muttered something under her breath. Seth turned to her and asked, "What?" Lisa turned and looked up at Seth. Softly, she said "These objects… It's a map."

Chris scoffed and said "A map? Are you serious?" Lisa's head darted towards Chris and she said "Listen. Seth and I both get those same visions. But the ones I get lead to where Seth's start. I have a number four on mine and he has a number five on his." Seth nods and they both take their objects out of their pockets, holding them out like badges. Chris's eyes got wide, seeing that all three of them had identical objects. "We need to find number's one and three. That's the only way we will figure out what is happening to us," Seth says, looking at Chris and then Lisa. The three of them look back and forth at each other, saying nothing. Chris finally rolls his eyes and says "FINE! But this doesn't mean I like any of you! I just want these god-awful headaches to stop!" Seth and Lisa nod, and Chris returns the nod. Chris then says "Alright. Let's make this quick." Lisa points down the hallway, saying, "My locker is downstairs this way." The three of them exchange nods before taking off down the hallway.

Seth lead the pack of three down the hallway. They ran past the library, Art room and Head Office. As they were running past the nurse's office, Seth hears something. "…and then I get this awful headache and... I start… seeing things." Seth came to a skidding halt, almost losing his footing and falling. Chris and Lisa came to the same skidding halt, almost bumping into Seth. Chris shoves Seth and says "Yo! What the heck?" Seth puts a finger to his lips and shushes Chris. Seth walks towards the entrance of the nurse's office. Sitting on a chair, an icepack on his head, was Alex. The nurse nods and says "Well, I want you to go get some rest, Mr. Martinez. I think this is a result of sleep-loss." Alex nods and says "Thanks Mrs. Henry. I'm gonna head home now." Seth grabbed Chris's and Lisa's attention and pulled them behind a wall. He looks at them sand says "Alright. Get ready for a bad headache." Alex walks out of the nurse's office and turns the corner. Staring directly at the three of them, he lets out an "Ummmm…" But, before he could say anything else, he dropped to the floor, his hands cupping the side of his head. The three-other people standing next to Alex dropped as well, wriggling on the floor. Seth was up first, weakly standing. He was getting used to these headaches, even though they were still painful. Lisa was up next, and Chris shortly followed. Seth stumbled over and picked up Alex. Alex was still clutching his head, groaning in pain as he wriggled around. Seth started shaking Alex and the boy jerked awake, swinging violently in every which direction. One of the swings made contact, clocking Seth straight across the cheek.

One thing Seth didn't expect was the power of the punch. Seth was ripped from Alex by the force of the punch, slamming up against the wall. Alex stopped swinging and looked over towards Seth. Lisa ran to his side and Chris started laughing. Seth rubbed his jawline, his brown eyes focusing on Alex. The boy in green stood up and said "I-im sorry. Sometimes I react without thinking… I'm so sorry." Seth said "Hey, don't mention it. Nice punch by the way." Alex laughed nervously, saying "Yah… I've gotten pretty defensive ever since…" The boy trailed off. Seth heard Chris's voice from behind him. "Since the crazy visions started? The headaches that appeared as soon as you touched the number on your little closed-scroll thing?" Alex just stared at Chris like the boy in blue had just guessed Alex's deepest, darkest secret. The boy in green gulps and says "H-how did you know that?" Seth stood up and pulled out his red object. Lisa pulled out her yellow one and Chris lifted his shirt just enough to flash Alex a glimpse of the blue object in his pocket. Alex stared in amazement. Reaching into the pocket of his hoodie, he pulled out an object like the other three. His was green and sported a golden 3. Alex looked at Seth and said, "What ARE these things?" Seth watched in amazement as the objects started to react to each other, flashing their respective color, almost… talking to each other. "I have no clue Alex, but that's what we are trying to find out." Lisa steps forward and says "All we've been able to piece together is that these things are a map. The visions they cause are connected and the numbers on them is the order your vision goes into the completed picture." Alex places a hand on his chin and says "That DOES make sense. And as a matter of fact, I know the area where MY vision takes place." Seth, Lisa and Chris gasp and Lisa says, "You do? Where?" Alex straightens his glasses and says "Indeed. My vision starts at a green lake, past a rock that was colored gold, silver and bronze and then leads me to a cliff with sunflowers on it. Well, it just so happens that there is a forest right here in town that has a fabled lake with green water. It's a chance, and if I am correct, we can find some answers there." Seth beamed with excitement. He looks at Lisa and Chris, saying "Alright guys. Alex is gonna lead us to this forest. Let's get to the bottom of this."


	4. Delta Force: The Proving Ground

The four of them had finally made it. Driving down the gravel road to the park was awkward. Seth drove, Lisa sat in front and Alex sat in the back with Chris. Nobody said a word, nobody made a sound. As Seth pulled into the parking lot, a new atmosphere came over everyone. The air in the car was filled with a new fear, one that shrouded everyone. Nobody knew what to expect, nobody had thought this completely through. Seth, seeing that nobody was going to make the first move, decided to lead the expedition. He opened the door of his truck and stepped out. The others followed suit, filing out. Seth took a breath and turned around to face the others. "Alright guys… I don't know what awaits us, but we have no other choice. Whatever we have been seeing is in there. So, let's not waste any time." Chris, Alex nod and Lisa just gives him a small smile. Seth nodded back and turned around, taking the first steps towards the forest. As they walked down the stick-laden trail, nobody talked. The anxiousness in the air was even thicker than when they were in the truck. As they walked a few minutes, the trail they were on suddenly stopped. Seth looked straight ahead and gave a low whistle. A Field of pink roses stretched out right in front of them. Seth gulped and took a few steps forward, making his way through the pink flower field. As they walked, the silence never changed. But suddenly, Seth's ears picked up a sound. "Come on… Are you serious," a female's voice asked? Seth's head darted to the left, holding up a balled fist to tell the other three to stay put. As his eyes scanned the flower field, he sees a girl with red hair and a pink beanie. He opens his eyes wide and says "Stephanie?" He began to take off through the field. "Seth, Wait!" Alex said behind Seth, but the boy was already running towards Stephanie. "Hey! Hey Stephanie!" The redhead looked towards the voice and saw a boy running across a field. She smiled and said "Seth!" As they ran towards each other, there was something Seth didn't expect. The same shrilling headache he has gotten four times already rang through his head. Right before it brought him to his knees, he saw Stephanie drop to her knees and disappear within the roses. Seth caught himself, weakly looking behind him. The other three were following him, but as soon as they got near Seth, they too collapsed. Seth gritted his teeth and stood up. He stumbled over towards Stephanie and said "Wha-? You too?" Stephanie weakly coughed and opened her eyes. She pushed herself onto her unsteady feet. She looked at him and said, "What do you mean... me too?" Seth gives a smirk and pulls out the object. Lisa and Chris, who were now standing, pull theirs out. A hand holding the green version of the object slowly rises out of the roses, signifying Alex's participation in this venture. Stephanie gave a huff of disbelief before reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out the object that they all had, but hers was the same color pink as the roses. At the top of hers was a golden number one. The last piece of the puzzle.

Seth felt something different. Not only did he feel pride, looking around at the completed team, but he felt something within him. He felt… stronger. Energy coursed through his veins and he feels like he could run a marathon. The others started looking over their arms, surely feeling the same thing Seth was feeling. Seth laughs as the objects in their hands began to glow. Seth's sends a red light in the air, Chris's shown a blue, Lisa's a yellow, Alex's a green and Stephanie's a pink. When all the lights combined in the air, it made a lightning bolt in the center of all of them. The wind began to pick up and swirl around the five of them. They looked at each other, smiling. After a bit, the wind died down and a voice rang in their heads. It sounded like the voice that Seth had heard in his vision. "Now… Follow the map" the voice said. The five teenagers looked at each other and nodded. They had their orders, now it's time to see where they lead. Stephanie stepped forward and said "Well, I guess this number one means I'm up first! I had gotten the vision once, but all I could remember was this rose field. I couldn't recall anything else, so I was trying to figure out a way to get knocked out again. And thanks to you, I know where we have to go!" Seth smiles and pockets his object. "Lead the way!" Stephanie gives him a smile and begins walking through the flower field. The rest of them followed the girl in pink. She led them past a tree with white flowers on it and a small pond that's water looked black as night. As they came to a clearing, Stephanie stopped. She turned around and said "Well… This is where my visions end. The lightning-struck tree with the blue moss."

Chris walks forward and pushes Seth aside. "Alright chumps! Stand aside. It's time for the master to lead." Chris made a 90 degree turn to the left and began walking. After a few moments, they passed a grove of pine trees. Leading them right into them, Chris trekked through the forest. The rest of them followed obediently, no matter how many times Chris pulled branches back and let them slap Alex in the face. Chris lead them to a clearing within the grove of pine trees. A dense fog rolled across the moss-covered ground. Seth and Alex step forward, looking directly in front of them. The fog gently touched the surface of what appeared to be a small lake, the water as green as a freshly cut emerald.

Alex let out a low whistle and said, "I knew it would be here somewhere." Seth patted Alex on the back and said, "It's your turn to lead now, bro." Alex gulped and nodded. Making his way around the bank of the lake to the other end, the boy in green lead the pack. As they walked, the fog disappeared and the air got thinner. They were getting higher in altitude. As they walked, they passed a rock that was colored gold, silver AND bronze. Seth stared at the rock as they kept walking. Alex kept his eyes dead ahead, looking at a small opening in the pine tree grove. As Alex stepped out of the forest, he stopped. Seth went up next to Alex, Lisa going next to Seth. Chris and Stephanie soon followed, standing next to Alex and Lisa respectively.

The five of them stared off the end of the cliff, the wind whipping their clothes. Seth looked to his left and saw a few patches of bright yellow sunflowers. They were curious. It was cloudy, but the flowers were still open, vibrant as ever. Lisa looked at Seth after glancing at the sunflowers, saying, "Welp! Looks like I'm up." Lisa closed her eyes, trying to think back to her vision. Opening them back up, she softly stepped down off the cliff, sliding down the edge. The rest of them follow suit, sliding down the cliffside until they got to the bottom of the small canyon. Lisa lead the teenagers through the canyon. Seth looked around and saw the orange berry bush that Lisa had talked about. They were so vibrant, so bright. It reminded him of a setting sun. The five of them walked for about five more minutes. Seth was about to say something, about to ask Lisa if she was lost when he saw it. Not thirty feet ahead was the entrance to a cave, the rock a bright crimson color. Seth takes a deep breath and catches up to Lisa. Patting her on the shoulder, he says, "I see my cue. Let me take it from here." Lisa nods and falls back with the others. Seth focus's his eyes ahead, ready for anything. As they reached the cave, it was pitch black. Seth was about to take out his phone to use the flashlight, but a soft, red glow was coming from his pocket. He took out his object and held it in front of him. Once it was in his hand, the object's glow increased, lighting up the room. The others, upon seeing this, pull their objects out too. Soon, the cave was aglow with a mixture of red, blue, yellow, green and pink. Seth walked cautiously until they got to a fork in the cave's tunnel. One wall was covered in a deep purple and the other one was the same crimson. Seth remembered that the vision had him going through the tunnel with the red walls. So, he chose that one, a little piece of him still curious as to what the use of the purple tunnel was. As he reached where the white room should be, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was no white room, just a circular chamber within the cave. Sunlight filtered through a hole in the top. Seth blinked, his heart beating. "What? There should be a giant white building here!"

Chris stepped forward, standing in front of a huge pile of boulders. "HA! Looks like the freak in red doesn't know what he's talking about after all." Chris kept laughing as Seth looked around. It was here… he knew it was. Alex stood there, watching all this. Suddenly something started tapping his foot. Alex looked down and saw a tiny pebble shaking its way towards Chris. The ground began to slightly tremble. Alex looked around as smaller and then bigger rocks started gathering onto the boulder pile behind a laughing Chris. Alex's heart started racing as he said "U-uh guys! H-heads up!" Seth and the other's turned to look at the rock pile, them too noticing the rocks making their way to the giant boulder heap. Chris gulped and turned around just to see it. The rocks started climbing each other, stacking into a figure. They formed legs, a torso, hulking arms and a head. Chris started backing away, looking at the newly formed rock monster. The rock monster roared and reared one of its hands back. Swinging it through the air, it came into contact with Chris, sending him flying against the cave wall. "Chris!" Lisa cries out, going to rush to Chris's side. The monster, seeing this, swung an opened palm towards Lisa. "No!" Seth said, rushing to intercept the monsters swing. Trusting a gut feeling, Seth jumped in the air. Surprising to the rest of them, Seth's jump was high enough to meet the monsters hand half-way. Seth reared a fist back and lunged forward in a punch. The monsters palm made contact with Seth's fist, a shockwave of force being sent around the cave. The monster's hand shattered from the force of the punch. Seth dropped down, holding his wrist. He couldn't believe his eyes! His fist was not only unscathed, but it felt more powerful than ever. Stephanie, who's mouth was still open, looked at her own hand. Seeing a boulder to the side of her, she turned and punched a hole right through the stone. She pulled her fist back, laughing in delight. "Guys! We can fight this thing! We're stronger!" Stephanie's eyes focused on the monster. She ran towards it, letting out a battle cry. Alex, who had taken the hint, started running side-by-side with Stephanie. Once they were upon the monster, they both jumped in the air. Spinning around, they both landed devastating kicks against the monster's chest. The upper part of the monster's body cracked from the force of the kicks. Chris was now back on his feet, looking much better. Lisa and Chris nod at each other, ready to jump in the fight. Chris runs forward and Lisa runs with him, trailing slightly behind. The monster roars and rears back to swing at Chris. Chris says, "Not this time, Stone Head!" Chris slides on the ground, ducking underneath the swing. Bringing a fist back, Chris slams a blow right into the monster's leg. The creature recoils in damage, kneeling. Taking advantage of this, Lisa jumps in the air, bringing her knee to crush upwards on the monster's jaw. The monster's head is forced back. Seth, running along the cave wall, jumps in the air. As the monster's head was falling back, Seth raised a leg and slammed his foot into the stone creature's forehead. The creature slammed against the cave floor, crying out in pain. Seth, Lisa and Chris get into offensive poses, Alex and Stephanie catching up with them and striking poses of their own. Seth looks from left to right, saying, "Alright team. Let's finish this!" The rest of them nod and say "Right." The monster gets up to its feet, letting out a roar. Crumbling from head to toe, the creature was almost finished.

Alex took off towards the creature first. The stone monster brought a fist up, getting ready to crush Alex. But the boy in green was too quick. As the fist came soaring down, Alex brought his own fist up into the air. As the two punches made contact, the stone fist shattered and crumbled to the ground. The creature brought its hand-less arm up into the air. However, Lisa was already upon the monstrosity. Going under the creature's arm, she back-flips off the wall. As she spun through the air, she let her feet connect with the creature's shoulder. The force broke the stone arm clean off. Stephanie and Chris both ran towards the monster. Chris jumped in the air and Stephanie ran underneath him. Sliding on the ground, Stephanie extended both of her arms. As they contacted the stone, the creature was completely taken out from under its feet. Slamming against the ground, it let out a roar. Chris, who was now falling, brought a fist by the side of his face. Landing on top of the monster's back, Chris slammed punch after punch into the creature's body. "Chris, let me finish this!" Seth said, picking up a stalagmite from the ground. Chris nods and backflips off the creature, a huge crater in the monsters back from where Chris had punched. Turning the stalagmite so that the pointed portion was facing downward, Seth jumped in the air. Spinning repeatedly in the air, he used his momentum to send the stalagmite shooting towards the monster like a bullet. The pointed stone hit its target, embedding itself in the creatures back. Still roaring, the monster was about to stand back up. Seth used the remaining momentum from his fall to slam into the stalagmite, driving it all the way through, not allowing the monster another chance to hurt his teammates. The force from Seth's landing shattered the creature, sending pieces of the monster flying everywhere. Seth walked away from the wreckage, breathing heavily. He looked at the four people who had helped them, their faces covered with sweat and dirt. He gave them a smile and the rest of them smiled back, the five of them starting to laugh. Cheers came out, a mix of "That was awesome!" or "I didn't even know I could do that!" or "Did you see how cool I was?" They were laughing until a clapping sound echoed through the cave. The five stopped laughing and cheering, all of them looking towards the source of the clapping. There was nobody in sight, nobody to attach the noise with.

Suddenly, the far wall of the cave began opening, the entire cave rumbling. As the cave wall split, there was a bright white light coming from the crack. As the wall completely opened, a circular building emanating a lustrous gleam could be seen. As Seth shielded his eyes, he could swear he sees a shadow. Once his eyes adjust, he KNOWS he sees a shadow. Alarmed, all five teenagers strike their offensive poses. The figure holds out his hands and says "Woah now! Do not be alarmed. I am not here to harm you." The figure stepped out of the glow so that Seth could get a good glimpse of him. He was an older man, looked to be in his late forties. The man was in a white robe with light blue lines zig-zagging across the outfit. On his forehead was a strange marking. Two V-like lines with a downward pointing arrow in the center. Seth, not moving from his offensive stance says, "Who are you? What do you want?" The figure places his hands in his sleeves and then presses them together, like a monk. He smiles kindly and says, "My name is Alistar. And I am coming to see my new Power Rangers."


	5. Delta Force: It's Morphing Time

Seth's fists began to release tension. However, his piercing gaze never left the stranger. The man in the white robe eagerly scanned the five of them, a huge grin on his face. Alex takes a step forward and pushes his glasses up. "I-I believe an explanation is in order here." Alistar raises an eyebrow and asks, "Explanation? Of what?" Chris pushes past Seth and says, "For starters, why the hell were we just attacked?!" Alistar smiles and says, "Oh! That was the Stone Guardian of Gaia. He guards my home. Legend has it that only the chosen few worthy enough to wield the Delta Morphers could defeat him." The strange man in the robe then jumped up, moving his hands in a wanting manner. "Oh! That reminds me! Let me see them! Let me see the Delta Morphers." The five of them exchanged puzzled looks, each of them wondering what Alistar was talking about. Stephanie pauses after a few seconds, reaching into her back pocket. Pulling out her pink, closed scroll-like object. Following her lead, Lisa and Chris take theirs out. Alex blinks at the other four, finally taking his out with some caution. Seth, seeing as he was the odd one out, reached into the pocket of his jacket. Feeling the smooth and curved surface, he pulled it out and held it towards Alistar. The five objects began to flash their respective colors, "Talking" to each other once again. Alistar couldn't have looked prouder. He clapped his hands together and said in a joyful tone "Oooooo, it IS you!" Lisa pulled her object away and said "Wait… You know what these things are?" Alistar nods, saying, "Yes! Those are called the Delta Morphers. They are the most valuable possessions of the Power Rangers Delta Force!" Chris raises an eyebrow. "Power Rangers? What are you rambling on about?" Alistar smiles and takes a few steps closer. "The Power Rangers are a group of warriors, defenders of the planet Earth and beyond. They are given unimaginable strength, speed and reflexes in the hope that they will use them to fend off the forces of darkness. I expect that you experienced this increase in your skill when you were fighting the Stone Guardian?" Seth nods and looks at the hand he had stopped the monster's attack with. Still not even a scratch or bruise to be seen.

Alex took a few steps forward and says "Okay… As much as I like to believe in the supernatural, this is just downright crazy. I mean… intergalactic protectors? And the boost in energy and strength? I don't call that magic, I call that the side effects of Adrenaline. I'm sorry guys, but this man is insane. I'm going." The boy in green began to walk out. Alistar turned to face Alex and his eyes began to glow a cloudy blue. Alex froze in his tracks and Alistar says, "Okay Alexander Cynthia John Martinez, here is what is currently going on. Your body is now linked to mine. Everything you do is a result of me." Seth, seeing this, rushes towards Alistar. However, as soon as he got within close proximity, he was sent flying back by some sort of shield. "I have a shield around myself. I am not going to hurt your friend, I am merely showing him the truth," Alistar said, moving his arms to grab both sides of an invisible object. As Alistar did this, Alex's hands moved so that both of his hands were grabbing one of the cylinders of the green Delta Morpher. Alistar's eyes flared to life as he said, "It's high noon!" The robed man's arms then split the object apart. Alex did the same, the Delta Morpher splitting into two separate cylinders. Alistar took one of his hands and put it out in front of him, angled slightly upward. He then put the other hand out, angling it slightly downward. He then traced both hands in a semi-circle, each hand going an opposite way. Alex did the same. However, his semi-circles actually appeared, a glowing-green line following both cylinders. Once Alistar's two hands had rotated to the opposite side from where they started, Alex had a glowing green circle in front of him. Numbers began to form around the inside edge, labeling 1-12. A lightning bolt spins around the numbers, finally landing on the number 12. Alistar, upon seeing this, takes a few steps forward. Alex does the same and as his body crosses through the circle, something amazing happens. His green hoodie and blue jeans were gone. In its place was a green jumpsuit, covering him from his neck to his feet. Instead of the boys tennis shoes, he was wearing a pair of dark-green cowboy boots. Black diamonds ran down the spine of the suit along with down the suits arms. The front showcased a zig-zag pattern. In the center of Alex's chest was a circle with the same symbol as the one on Alistar's head. Alex looked down at himself in amazement, and everyone else stared in awe. Seth couldn't believe what he was seeing. The green circle Alex just stepped through came up and over Alex. As it passed over his head, a helmet started forming. There was a dark-green cowboy hat built in to a mask, which matched his green suit. The visor sat right underneath the brim of the hat, both sides coming down in two points. The circle dissipated when it reached Alex's shoulders. Alistar spun around and struck a pose, his fists up like he was about to fight something. "Instinct of a Ranger! Delta Force Green," the robed man said, his eyes returning to normal.

Alex, now released from Alistar's grip, began looking at himself. The other four ran over to him. "Dude…," Chris begins to say, examining Alex, "This is so cool! Holy cow man!" Alex looked at the other four and said "Guys… I feel so powerful. I feel ridiculous looking like this… but I feel like I could do anything." Alistar comes up to the group of them and says, "THIS, is a Power Ranger. The strength that you are feeling comes from your connection to the Morphing Grid. That connection is what gives you the abilities you have as Rangers. As a matter of fact, I myself am connected directly to the Morphing Grid. If the Grid is healthy and strong, so am I." Lisa and Stephanie look at each other and Seth walks forward, saying, "So… We can ALL do this? Just because we have these… Delta Morphers?" Alistar nods and says "Yes. These Morphers have chosen YOU to wield their power. They have deemed you worthy to call yourselves Power Rangers." Alex, who was still in the costume, turns to the robed man and says "Ummmm, this is cool and all, but how exactly do I get OUT of the suit?" Alistar's eyes narrowed before a hand came back, knocking Alex right in the chest. The boy in green went straight to the ground from the force of the blow, coughing and sputtering. The suit and mask began to glow and then, in a green flash, dissipated. Alex was left on the ground, once again in his street clothes. Lisa helps Alex up as Alistar says "Usually, taking a bit of damage will make the suit disappear. Until then, the suit will remain perfectly intact." Seth was about to say something when a stone clicked across the cave floor. Alistar's head shot towards the sound, his eyes glowing the same color as before. A giant boulder that was in front of the cave wall was slowly lifted into the air and set to the side. In the boulder's place, crouched down, was two figures.

The tallest figure's head pops up, looking left and right. The figure tapped the still crouching shadow on the shoulder and said, "Wick… Wick! I think they see us Wick." The other figures head pokes up as well, looking at the five teenagers and then to Alistar. She let out an "Eep!" before ducking behind the taller figure. Alistar taps his foot, saying, "Satchel! Wick! What are you two doing outside of the Beacon? I told you two to stay inside." The taller figure stands up, coming into the light. He was dressed in a black button-up shirt and white pants. Around his torso was a silver vest, matching a silver bowtie. His neatly combed hair shone in the light, along with the tops of his black dress shoes. He gave a smile and a small bow, clasping his hands in front of his body. "Yes! You did say that. But…. We wanted to come meet the new Power Rangers. We couldn't wait!" The other figure, who was still in the shadows, softly comes out, still half-hiding behind Satchel. The other figure was a woman, a little shorter than Satchel. She wore a brown long-sleeve shirt with white pants. She had a white bow in her curly hair. She adjusted her glasses as she peered out from behind Satchel, looking at the five of them. Alistar shakes his head and says "Rangers… THIS is Satchel and Wick. They are my technology experts. They aren't very good at following orders, but I've never seen anyone quite as smart as these two." Satchel gives another bow, exposing Wick as he bent over. Wick blushed furiously, looking terrified. Seth looked back at the female, who was obviously shy beyond belief. He found himself rather… amused by these two. Satchel, once again standing back up, said "I apologize that we had to meet under such sketchy circumstances. But we simply couldn't wait!" Wick blinked and added "Y-yah… if we were being honest… We expected… more." Alistar snaps at the two of them and says "Hey! I can tolerate you sneaking out without my approval, but I do NOT appreciate rudeness. That is no way to talk to my new Power Rangers." Finally, Lisa interjects. Flustered in the face, she yells, "ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" All the people in the cave turn to look at her, seeing she was angry. She looks left, then right, finally saying "First off! This is amazing, it really is. But we never agreed to be your "Power Rangers" or whatever. We never said yes, so stop calling us that! I get that this is cool, but do you have any idea how crazy this sounds? I mean, we all have normal lives, we all have families! We can't just go off fighting monsters every day!"

A scoff is heard in the background and Chris steps forward. The boy fixes his blue shirt and flips the blue Delta Morpher in his hand. As he walks to stand next to Alistar, he says, "Well, hey. Speak for yourself. Extra power sounds cool to me. And besides, if I can become famous for this, I'm all in." Lisa just stares at Chris, anger filling her eyes. "Why you low-down, Self-centered-" but she was cut off by the sound of another pair of footsteps. As she looks to her left, Alex is walking towards Alistar as well. "Alex?" Lisa asks, weakly. He shrugs and says, "Why not? Listen, Lisa. I've been picked on my entire life, put in danger by those bigger than me. But finally, I can stop that from happening to others. I can stop people from getting hurt." Another voice, a female one, came from behind Seth and Lisa. "I hate to admit it and, as crazy as this seems… Alex is right. We saw that this is no joke, we saw it in front of our very eyes! We have a chance to help people even more than we could before. And if I can save lives… I'm going to take that chance." Lisa stares in awe as Stephanie walks towards Chris, standing next to him and Alistar. Lisa shook her head and turned to look at Seth. She just stares at him, silently telling him to not do this. Seth hangs his head and begins to walk, taking two steps forward. Lisa grabs him by the arm and says, "wh- what are you doing?" Seth looks her dead in the eye and says, "Lisa, this is crazy. It scares you and it confuses you. I get that. But look at what we have here! It's a real chance to help people! I walk those streets every day and I see people get picked on, get put into danger. But I can finally help those people! With this.. this thing at my side, I can finally do some good." With those words, Seth holds up his Delta Morpher. "You always ask me about destiny Lisa, what mine is. Well THIS is my destiny. And if I'm right, I'm pretty sure it's yours as well." He shakes his arm, causing her weakening grip to release. He walks to stand next to Alex, looking at Lisa. The girl in yellow simply looked down. A tear streamed down the side of her cheek and she said, "You're wrong… This isn't my destiny… It isn't yours either… I have to go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Lisa turns and walks out of the cave. Making her way to the entrance, Seth calls out. "Lisa, wait!" But with that, Lisa's walk turned into a run and she disappeared out of sight.

The four rangers watch as Lisa runs off, a feeling of sorrow coming over them. Even Chris felt at least a little bad, which shocked even HIM! Was he feeling compassion? No, no. That was ridiculous, he's probably just tired. Alistar clears his throat and takes a few steps towards the cave. Letting out a sigh and hanging his head, he says, "Well… It is most unfortunate that Miss. Pilkinton will not be joining us as the Yellow Delta Force ranger, but we mustn't let that get the best of us. We need to get started on your training!" Seth took a step forward, standing in front of the other three. "I hate to be a letdown, but I don't think any of us are in any shape to be training today." Alistar's blue eyes scan left and right, looking and waiting for one of the teenagers to object to what Seth was saying. But nobody made a sound. They all knew that Seth was right, none of them wanted to train. Too much had happened and they really just needed time to let all this sink in. Stephanie steps forward and pats Seth on the shoulder. "Seth is right! Maybe we can start tomorrow? I just think we need some time to process all of this." Alistar shakes his head and says, "Gaaahhh… You humans are all alike. But very well. All of you, get some rest. I want you all here first thing tomorrow!" Chris walks up, but he walks right past Seth AND Alistar. He holds up a hand and says, "Sure. Whatever you say, boss. We'll be here tomorrow." The boy in blue pockets his Delta Morpher and walks out of the cave. Alex and Stephanie follow and Seth walks up to Alistar. "Hey, trust me. I'll make sure they're here tomorrow." Alistar looks at Seth after the boy in red made that comment. The robbed figure taps Seth on the chest and says, "You better. You are the Red Ranger. Do you know what that means? This means that YOU are the leader. YOU oversee the safety and protection of your team, no matter what that means." Seth gulps, his eyes plastered to Alistar. He takes a deep breath, lets it out and gives the man in white a firm nod. And with that, he leaves the cave.

The next few hours were pretty boring for Seth. After dropping the other three off at their houses, he heads back home himself. He tried to do homework, but he couldn't focus. He tried to eat, but his mind kept wandering. He even tried to go to bed early, but it was no use. His mind kept wandering over to the small red object sitting on his desk. This made him think of the rangers, what he saw with Alex. Then THAT made him think about Lisa. He felt awful about the way she reacted, even if it wasn't his fault. He knew that he needed to go talk to her, he needed to make sure things were still cool between them. So, he threw on a red t-shirt and dashed out of his house. He practiced what he was going to say to her once he got to her house. "Hey Lisa, what up?" He shook his head. _No, no. That's lame._ "Hey Lis'… How's it shakin'?" _When was I born? The 80's? Geez._ "So! You're a ranger and don't want to be! I get that! But here's where you're wrong." _Oh yah, sure. THAT'S what she wants to hear. Sorry, but your wrong! C'mon Seth._ He was finding it harder and harder to figure out what he was going to say. He decided to just shake it off and think it up as he goes along. He was always able to do that with Lisa, just talk normally. It was one thing that made them such great friends. As he rounded the bend of the dirt road that lead to her house, his truck came to a skidding halt. Every thought of Lisa that he had, every happy memory of her was overtaken with fear. He threw open his car door and jumped out. His pupils were set ablaze by the sight ahead. Lisa's house, her small, country home… was completely engulfed in flames. The wind blew through his hair as his heart sunk further and further into his stomach. He could only mutter out one word. "Lisa…"


	6. Delta Force: Trial By Fire

Seth's mind began racing a million miles an hour. He pulled out his phone and dialed 9-1-1. He frantically told them about the fire and they said they would be there in five minutes. "That's too long!" Seth said, dropping his phone and running into the burning building. Using his shoulder, he knocked down the front door. The heat hit his face all at once, causing him to reel back and cover up his face. After a second, he took a deep breath and charged into her blazing living room. He looked left and right, the smoke partially blinding his vision. "LISA," he yelled out, trying to find her. The house began to creak, signaling that it wasn't going to hold much longer. His heart began racing faster than it already was, pounding in his chest. Running down the hallway and around a corner, he was in her kitchen. As he looked around, he saw a pair of legs on the ground. He rushed to the persons side, seeing that it was Lisa's brother. Seth put his head to the boy's chest, breathing a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat. Seth put his arms under the boys back and his legs, picking him up. Coughing, Seth ran as fast as he could to the door, setting the boy down a safe distance away. Once the boy was set down, Seth ran back into the house. As he turned the corner of the kitchen, he was at the staircase that lead to the upper level of the house. Seth ran up the stairs and went to the first door on the right. As he busted it open, he saw a woman hunched over with a baby in her hands. Lisa's mother. "Mrs. Pilkinton!" he yelled out to her. The woman turned around, shedding tears of relief. "Seth! Thank god you are here!" Seth ran to Mrs. Pilkinton's side and said "Alright! We need to get out of here, now!" Seth grabbed Lisa's mother by the arm and lead her down the stairs, the fire roaring at him. The doorway that lead outside was in view, but Seth stopped for a second, frozen with fear. The entire exit of the house was engulfed in flames. He needed to find another way out. The baby started crying and Lisa's mom started comforting it. "Seth! What do we do now?" she said, panic woven within her voice. He looked left, then right. Seeing a window near the couch in their living room, he knew it was his only option. Seth lead Mrs. Pilkinton to the window and he threw it open. "Alright. You need to hop out of this window. Give me the baby and you go out first. Then I'll hand her to you." Mrs. Pilkinton nodded, a tear in her eye. She kissed her baby on the forehead and gave her to Seth. Seth gently bounced with the baby, trying to stifle it's never-ending crying. Lisa's mom hopped out the window and Seth handed her the baby. Seth looked out the window and said, "Alright! I'm going to find Lisa!" Lisa's mom nodded and he took off through the house again.

He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before, but it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. His lungs suddenly locked up, making it harder for him to breath. His skin felt like it was burning due to the heat and his eyes wouldn't stop watering. The only thing that was driving him to keep going was the want to save his best friend. He trekked back up the stairs, his footsteps getting heavier. He stumbled once, but he got right back up, coughing vigorously. As he walked to the end of the upstairs hallway, he kicked down the door. He looked left and then right, but the room was empty. He heard a creak and then a loud crashing sound. As he turned around, he came face to face with a horrifying sight. A section of the wooden floor in the hallway right next to the room he was in had collapsed, leading to a pit of fire. Seth gulped and shook all fear he had out of his head. Taking a few steps back, he jumped a bit. Taking off towards the pit that had opened up, he leaped into the air. Time slowed down as he jumped through the air. He could think of a million things at this moment, but only one thing brushed his mind. He NEEDED to find Lisa, he couldn't lose his best friend. As he landed, he rolled to safety. Looking at the pit, he let out a sigh of relief. But as he lay there and through the roar of the inferno, he heard a sound coming from the door on his left. It was faint, it was soft. But the sound, the voice… the word, was very, VERY clear. Seth stood up just as he heard the word "Help".

He kicked down the door of the room, sending it slamming to the floor. Straight ahead of him was a figure laying on the floor. The figure was wearing a yellow shirt, her red hair covering up her face. "Lisa…" Seth said, running over to her side. He shook her frantically, looking for signs that she is still with him. The girl's eye's fluttered open, her blue pupils looking at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but she let out a cough instead. Seth nodded and picked her up the same way he did her brother. Making his way down the hallway to the steps, the heat was getting worse. Outside an upstairs window, he could see flashing red and blue light. The firemen were here. Seth gave a smile before looking down the stairwell. Walking down the stairs, he turned the corner to go to the window he had helped Lisa's mom get out of. But he was stopped dead in his tracks, his knees getting weak. The entire left corner of the house had collapsed, crushing and blocking their only exit path. Seth's heart raced alongside his mind, trying to find another exit. But it was no use, there was no way. Suddenly, Seth dropped to one knee. The smoke from the blaze was getting to him. He set Lisa on the floor and covered his mouth, unable to get a good breath of air in. But every time he breathed in, smoke only choked him. He collapsed to the ground again, taking a knee. As he did, he heard something clink to the floor. His arm over his mouth, he looked at what had fallen out of his pocket. Glinting in the glow of the fire was a red object that looked like a closed-scroll. His Delta Morpher. Seth just stared at the object, his mind and heart finally coming to a similar pace. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't know whether to do it or not.

Outside of the house, the policemen and firemen were scrambling to get their gear on. A squad of four firemen, all geared up, were headed inside. Suddenly, a glow filled the area around the house, coloring the grass and surrounding trees red and drowning out the orange glow of the still blazing inferno. The firemen stopped in their tracks as a figure came through the front door. Stepping right through the flames, the girl in yellow on his back, was a figure dressed rather peculiarly. The person stepping out of the flames was in a red jumpsuit, a pair of dark red cowboy boots and a mask, complete with a built-in, dark-red cowboy hat. As he walked forward, the firemen and policemen stepped backwards. All the strange figure did was knelt on the ground, setting the girl in the grass. One of the firemen ran in and picked Lisa up, taking her to one of the ambulances. The news reporter that had been there stepped forward. The camera focused on the figure in red, she held out her microphone. "This is Felicity Roman, your source for news here in Belvidere. An amazing rescue has just happened, where an entire family was rescued by… ummm…" the news lady paused, looking at the figure in red. She held the microphone up to the mask, saying, "Who are you?" The masked hero looks at the camera and stood silent. A few seconds of silence go by before he finally said, "I am the Red Deltaforce Power Ranger. Me and my fellow rangers are here to protect any and all people in need. As long as trouble exists to cause mayhem, we will be there to stop it!" With those words, the Red Ranger ran off into the forest. The police men started to chase him, but the firemen stopped them. "Woah, woah. Just… let him go. If he was truly a threat, he would have done something. But he saved a young woman's life. Just let him go," the chief of the firemen said, looking to where the Red Power Ranger had run off to.

Once he was out of sight, Seth began to relax. He can't believe he did that! He felt so powerful in this suit, like years upon years of exercise had suddenly hit him in a matter of a few seconds. He finally took a second to look at himself, examining the costume he was in. He DID feel kind of ridiculous, but the power he felt was undeniable. He spun around a few times, trying to catch a glimpse of the back half of his costume, but the spinning just made him fall down onto the ground. Able to relax and take a breather, he laid down in the grass. The costume around him began to glow before dissipating into a flash of red. He was in his street clothes again, laying in the grass. He looked up at the stars, noting that relaxation can ALSO make the suit disappear. He laid there for a few minutes, hearing the sirens mixed in with the sounds of the night. Finally, he stood up and began walking home. Once he got in the door, his mother rushed to him with a hug. "Oh my god, thank goodness you are safe!" Seth's eyes widened and he looked down at his mother. "Ummm… What's wrong mom?" She released him and showed him to the television. The news reporter was on the screen, starting her "On the scene report". Seth sat down on his couch as the woman started to say, "Greetings and welcome. My name is Felicity Roman here with your breaking news broadcast. A fire had erupted in a local country home here in Belvidere. Engulfing the entire house in flames, the inferno had claimed the house completely, leaving it nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash. However, that is not the biggest news. Check out who had come to save the family INSIDE the house. A figure clad in a red superhero outfit, calling himself a Power Ranger. Now, to those of you who know anything about life outside of this isolated country area, the Power Rangers are no new scene to the planet earth and beyond. They are the sworn protectors of the earth, fighting valiantly against forces that threaten our stability. Now… is this just some form of dress-up in order to get famous? Or does Belvidere have it's very own super-powered team waiting in the shadow to help us fight against danger? That is a question that only time can answer. Until then, we can only leave the answer up to speculation. This has been Felicity Roman with channel five news." Seth's mom turns to him and says "I thought you were at Lisa's… I thought you were in the fire… That's why I was scared." Seth smiled and cupped his mom's cheek. "Hey. I'm alright. I'm home now." His mom smiled over to him and nodded her head. Seth stretched out and stood up. "Welp! I think I'm going to go to bed… I'm pretty tired." His mom tilted her head and said, "But honey. You just got home. Don't you want some dinner?" Seth shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine. I'm just… Really tired." And with those words, Seth went to his room. And his mom could swear that, for some reason… She smelt smoke.

The next day, Seth woke up early. Doing his morning chores around the farm, he took the time to think about the whole Ranger business. Was it really his destiny? And If it is… why now? Why not a few years earlier, or even sometime later in his life? These questions would continue to circle around in his head as he got into his truck and made his way to Whitman Forrest. Hopping out, he followed the path that the five of them had followed yesterday in order to get to the strange cave. Alistar had told them that today was a training day, so Seth was excited to see what was in store. Once he got to the cave, he smiled as he stood at the entrance. Sitting on a rock, one knee up and the other leg straight, was Chris. He was wearing a black shirt, black jeans and a blue jacket. Alex was sparring with Stephanie, both of them looking like they were practicing the motions instead of actually fighting. Alistar was standing towards the shining white building, watching them. Once the man in the white robe saw Seth, he gave a smile. "Ah! Mr. Lambright!" Alex and Stephanie stopped fighting and stared over at him. Chris stood up too, crossing his arms over his chest. "WELL! If it isn't the wannabe fireman. Went out to get an early start on being famous, huh?" Seth's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth. "What do you mean… Being famous?" Chris stepped forward, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm talking about you intervening that house fire. Saving that family. Even if it WAS that Ranger Dropout Lisa, it would have been nice to call us for help." Stephanie took a few steps forward and said "Chris, shut up! Just shut up!" She then turned to Seth and patted him on the shoulder. "I thought it was really cool what you did for Lisa. We all saw the newscast." Alistar stepped forward, arching a brow. "Newscast? You were morphed and you were on the news? Fantastic! I wish to see!" Alex shrugged and said "I mean… if you really want to." Pulling out his phone, he turned on the newscast from last night. As Alistar watched the report, he smiled the whole time. The grin remained on his face while it showed Seth carrying Lisa out of the fire, while it showed Seth's "Interview" and even when it showed him running off. But once the screen showed an overhead shot of the burned down house, Alistar's grin turned to a frown. "Pause it! Pause it now!" He yelled out, tapping Alex on the shoulder rapidly. Alex jumped a bit, pausing the video by tapping the screen. Alistar grabbed the phone, his hand shaking. He didn't say a single word. He just turned around and walked into the white building, his eyes glued to the phone screen. The four of them exchanged puzzled looks and then simultaneously decided to follow Alistar. Once they got into the building, Alex shouted out, "HEY! What is going on?" Alistar whipped around, holding the phone out. "What's going on is that the fire Lisa was in was no accident! It was a direct attack, Meant to kill whoever was inside."


	7. Delt Force: The Bounty Hunter

Seth froze in his track. "An attack? Who attacked Lisa?" At this point, Seth appeared aggressive, his blood beginning to boil. Satchel And Wick stepped through the automatic door, into the room they were in. The room had completely white walls. A central console sat in the center of the circular room. Buttons and machines lined the walls and on the other side of the room, was the door the two brainiacs stepped through. Satchel stared at the four of them with a puzzled look on his face. Wick, upon seeing them, blushed and slowly scooted behind Satchel. Satchel cleared his throat and said "Umm… Hello. Could somebody tell me what exactly is going on here?" Alistar walked towards Satchel and handed the boy in the silver suit Alex's phone. Satchel looked at the screen and Wick peeked over the taller boy's shoulder as well as she could. Both of them gasp and Satchel gives Alistar a stern look. "Exos," the boy asked? Alistar nodded and Satchel looked down, shaking his head. Stephanie stepped forward, raising an eyebrow. "Exos? Who's Exos?" Alistar stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath. He set Alex's phone down on one of the machines and began slowly walking towards the center console. He takes a deep breath and then begins talking. "Rangers… There is something I haven't told you. I… am not from this world. I come from a faraway planet, lightyears away from your galaxy. My planet, along with a legion of over fifty other planets, used to serve a superior alien council. This alien council rule dover all fifty planets, giving us resources and other needs. However, to get these resources, sacrifices had to be made. One such sacrifice… came in the form of my home planet. We were not as technologically or militarily advanced as the other planets, so one day, the council came in and ripped my home world to shreds. I was the only survivor, the last of my kind. I knew I couldn't stay within the reaches of the council, so I ran away towards the neighboring galaxy. This neighboring galaxy, was YOUR milky way galaxy. Once I found a planet with similar resources to my own, I decided to take refuge there. I watched humans evolve and eventually name this place "Earth". However, one thing followed me from my home planet and that was my connection to the morphing grid. As I was sitting there, watching humans grow, I was given a message via the morphing grid. I was to go into a special form of cryo-sleep until, and I quote, "The world needed a savior". So, I did. I went into a frozen state of time. My world was peaceful, until I woke up over a thousand years later. Once I awoke, I found myself in the place you are standing in right now. The Beacon. Satchel and Wick were the first people I saw here. Apparently, they had been here for the past fifty years. Something in their blood kept them from aging, keeping them young. Anyways, as I found out moments later after I awoke, the earth indeed needed a savior. The council was still hungry for resources, and it had set it's sights on Earth. My orders were clear. I had to find and summon my new Power Rangers to battle. The morphing grid gave me the five Morphers, telling me my mission. However, the council foresaw this. They had seen the other ranger teams that had defended Earth before and it scared them. So, they sent in a bounty hunter by the name of Exos."

Alistar pressed a button on the center console and a holographic image appeared in the center. The image was of a hulking figure, smirking. His skin was colored a greyish-blue and he stood around seven feet tall. He wore a jagged black vest with a pair of rugged, armored chaps. He had a pair of cowboy boots and a black bandanna over his mouth. His eyes gave a piercing white glow underneath the brim of his pitch-black cowboy hat. In his hand was a gigantic, revolver-like gun, the same symbol that was on Alistar's forehead imbedded into the barrel. The four teenagers walked around the console, getting a good look at the figure. Alistar continued by saying, "Exos is a ruthless bounty hunter who roams the galaxy looking for his next target. He's quick, strong, cunning and, most importantly, extremely dangerous. Unfortunately for you… His next bounty is the Power Rangers. And by the looks of this, "Alistar pulls up the picture that was on Alex's phone, turning it into a holographic image. The aerial view of Lisa's burnt house showed on the screen. Seth squinted his eyes and took a few steps forward. In the huge pile of grey ash, there were three distinct black markings. Two V-like shaped with a downward pointing arrow. The same marking as the one on Alistar's forehead and Exos's gun. Alex rubbed his chin and said "That symbol… What does it mean?" Alistar, his eyes never leaving the image, said, "That symbol is the marking of the council. Anything that is apart or WAS apart of the council has that marking. I was given mine days before my planet was destroyed. That gun was crafted by the council for Exos I imagine. But that symbol means that this was Exo's work." Seth's fist closed and squeezed shut. He was so angry… so furious that someone would attack his friend. After sitting there for a few seconds, Seth let out a growl and walked out of the beacon. He needed to go see Lisa in the hospital and clear his head.

Getting into his truck, he sped down the road. Part of his speeding was his want to get to Lisa, but the other part was his pure rage at Exos. Once he reached the Swedish American hospital, he asked the receptionist where Lisa was. Once he got to her room, he paused in the doorway. She was still unconscious, which worried Seth. The doctor, who was in the room with Lisa, turned and looked at Seth. He smiled and said "Yes, hello. Can I help you?" Seth nods and says "Yah. I'm her best friend… is alright if I get a moment alone with her?" The doctor shrugged and said, "I don't see why not. Just, don't expect a response. She's still knocked out cold. Something hit her in the head pretty hard. She could be out for another couple hours." Seth nodded and the doctor left the room, shutting the door. He walked a few steps forward and knelt down next to her bed. Lisa's chest rose and fell with the steady beat of her breathing. He got teary eyed seeing his friend like this, slowly reaching up to grab her hand. Her… closed hand. Wait. _Why is her hand closed?_ Using a bit of force, he opened up her fist. Inside the palm of her hand, there was a note. His heart began to beat as he slowly uncrumpled the note, reading what it said. His heart, however, stopped when he read the words. "You found my clue. Now come get me. Only the ashes will reveal who is truly stronger." At the bottom of the note was the symbol of the council, revealing the note to be Exos's. Seth's hands began to shake and he began to scream inside. First, he almost killed his friend and now Exos was mocking him?! Seth crumpled up the not into a fist, squeezing until his knuckles turned white. He threw the note on the ground and stormed out of the hospital. Getting into the truck, he had nothing but anger in his eyes. Speeding past every car on the road, he had one destination in mind. "Only the ashes will reveal who is truly stronger." Exos was at Lisa's house.

As seth pulled into the gravel driveway, the spot where Lisa's house used to be was almost haunting. Seth grabbed his Delta Morpher from the front seat of his truck and placed it in his back pocket. Just as he was about to get out of the car, his phone buzzed. Looking at it, he saw that he had five new messages from Stephanie. "Seth, are you okay?", "Seth, are you there?", "Hello", "Seth. No. Don't do it. Alistar told us you were going to fight Exos." And "Seth! Seth, don't do it! He will kill you!" Seth stared at his phone for a second, almost disgusted by the messages. He threw his phone in the passenger side and stepped out of his truck. Walking out to the middle of Lisa's back yard, he spread his arms. "Alright Exos! Here I am! Come and get me!" There was no answer. Crickets chirped softly and the breeze softly blew through his hair and across his red shirt. The fact that there was no response only made his heart beat faster. He got angrier, his blood boiling even more. He slammed his foot on the ground and yelled "EXOS YOU COWARD! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!" Nothing. Complete silence. At least… it was for a second. "Heh… it's hard to take you humans seriously when you get so worked up." The voice sounded deep with a slight robotic tone. Seth, not being able to pick up where the voice was coming from, snarled to himself. "And it's hard to take you seriously when you won't be a man and show yourself." A cackling laugh came from somewhere and the voice replied back. "Ah, but you see, I am no man. I am much more. I am stronger… I am faster… and I am deadlier than any human could ever be." Seth lowered his head, the anger inside of him almost making him burst. His hands trembling from anger, he softly and sharply hissed, "Then prove it, coward." There was silence for a few seconds before a thump was heard, like a heavy object being dropped on the ground. As Seth took a look from the direction of the thump, his eyes widened. Coming out of the forest, pushing trees out of the way, was Exos. He stood a good foot and a half taller than Seth, his stature muscular and threatening. His eyes pierced at Seth and he took a few steps forward. Seth tensed up as Exos said, "So. YOU are one of the infamous rangers that I'm hearing about? You don't look like much. You humans are so… tiny." Seth smirked and pulled out his Delta Morpher from his back pocket, spinning it in his hand. "Not just any ranger. I am the Delta Force Red Ranger!"

Exos jumped back a few steps and curled up into a ball, recoiling from the sight of the Morpher. Seth smirked, seeing that Exos was scared. "No! No please! I didn't know that you were the Red ranger! Please, please don't use your power on me!" Seth smirked and took a few steps forward. Exos backed up a bit and said, "No, please. I really don't want you to use your power on me! You know, the power that you only got… a day ago." With that last little bit, Exos stood up, laughing maniacally. Seth stopped in his tracks, backing up slightly. "Wh.. what?" Exos smirked underneath his bandanna and said, "Kid, you got that Delta Morpher yesterday. I've had eons upon eons of experience. How do you possibly think that you can stand a chance against me?" Seth stepped back, shying away for a second. Exos huffed and said, "Hmph. That's what I thought. Just as pathetic as your friend." Seth stopped backing up, his heart giving a hard ping in his chest. His hand tightened around the Delta Morpher. He began to breathe heavily, rage weaving through his veins. He gave a wicked smirk and said, "Hey Exos. Do you know what time it is?" The villain rolled his eyes and replied, "Oh please. Enlighten me." Seth's eyes, now pulsing with Red energy, shot a glance at Exos. Seth smiled and said, "It's High Noon!"

Breaking the Delta Morpher into its two separate cylinders, he angled both hands in opposite directions. He made the red circle and the numbers 1- 12 appeared. He stepped through the circle, going into his Ranger Outfit. The circle came up and over his head, forming the mask. He slammed a foot on the ground, spun around, threw a punch and then ran a finger against the brim of the cowboy hat on his mask. "Spirit of the Ranger! Delta Force Red!" Seth once again felt the surge of power coursing through his body thanks to the suit. Exos gave a wicked grin under his bandanna, his eyes narrowing at the red ranger. "Excellent." Is all he said, holding up a hand to give the "Come at me" gesture. Seth let out a roar and raced towards Exos, his speed doubled. He reared back and threw a powerful punch. Grinning, Exos side-stepped the punch. Grabbing Seth by the wrist, he spun in a circle and used his momentum to throw Seth into a nearby tree. Seth hit the tree hard, collapsing to the ground. Even with the armor, he felt the power behind Exos's throw. He tried to get up, but the villain was already upon him. Picking up Seth by the back of his neck, Exos slammed the red ranger back into the ground repeatedly. Seth's body was filling with pain, and he felt blood gracing his bottom lip. Exos, picking Seth up again, Threw him against another tree. Seth lay on the ground, unable to move for a few seconds. His suit began to glow a bright red before vanishing into a puff of red sparks. Now back to his human form, he wriggled in pain on the ground. Exos cackled and strutted over to Seth. Placing a boot on Seth's chest, Exos looked down at the fallen red ranger. He reached into the holster on his side and pulled out the same gun Seth had seen earlier. He aimed the barrel aright at Seth's forehead. The gun began to charge up, a blue light forming in the center of the barrel. Exos gave a grin and leaned down, saying, "Here lies the Red Ranger. He died as he lived. Weak and Alone." Exos let out a loud laugh before suddenly being soved off of Seth. Struggling to stand up, the boy in red looked around at what had shoves Exos off. Standing in between the bounty hunter and Seth was a pair of dark blue cowboy boots. Seth's eyes trailed upwards to look at a figure clad in a blue jumpsuit, black diamonds going up his spine. Running up to his side were two more figures in colored jumpsuits, one pink and one green. The three Rangers stood defensively in front of Seth. Chris's voice comes from the blue ranger, saying, "Alright! You two get Seth out of here. I'll distract big, bad and ugly." Stephanie and Alex both say, "Right" before each grabbing one of Seth's arms. They drag him back to his truck as Chris engages battle with Exos. The bounty hunter was back on his feet now, ready to square off against the blue ranger.

Chris rushed forward, trying to take Exos out at the legs. Exos simply grabbed Chris by his mask and lifted him up in the air. Struggling to get free, Chris was helpless against the bounty hunter. Stephanie rushed towards Exos, but the villain simply reared back and threw Chris at the pink ranger. Hitting it's target square on, both of them went flying back a few feet. Alex, who had managed to sneak up on Exos, jumped on his back and wrapped his arms around the bounty hunters neck. The villain let out a cackle as he grabbed Alex by the arms, slamming him to the ground. He reared a fist back and sent it flying towards Alex's face. Chris, who was back on his feet and upon Exos now, spun around and kicked the fist out of the way. Alex used this to push his feet against Exos's chest, sending the villain back a few steps. Stephanie jumped into the air, trying to bring her heel down on Exos's head, but the villain was too quick. He grabbed the pink ranger by the ankle and spun around, throwing her towards a tree. Chris, seeing this, jumped in the air and caught her, breaking her fall. As they landed, Stephanie looked at Chris. "You… You caught me." Chris nods and says "Well. You caught me earlier. Thought I would return the favor." Both of them looked at each other for a second before Alex snapped them back to reality. "Hey guys! Sort of fighting for our lives right now!" Chris and Stephanie stood up, standing next to Alex. Chris looked at both of them and said "Alright guys. Let's finish this poser!" They both nod and all three of them rush towards Exos. Exos smiled and pulled out his hand cannon. Aiming it at Stephanie, he took one shot. It hit her square in the chest, but it didn't hurt her at all. Instead, her suit began to glow a pink and then vanished into pink sparkles. Stephanie, now back to her normal form, looked around. "What? No. NO!" she said, panicking. Chris looks at Alex and says, "Alex! Get her out of here!" Seth watches as Alex jumps backwards a bit, grabs Stephanie and brings her to where he was laying. Stephanie just sat there, frantically hitting her Delta Morpher, which was dimly blinking pink. Chris was now upon Exos, rearing back another punch. Exos, however, was expecting this. He caught the boy by the wrist. Exos kicked the inside of Chris's leg, making him kneel down. Letting out a low cackle, the bounty hunter slammed a punch right into the back of Chris's shoulder. Chris let out a cry of pain before Exos lets go of Chris. The blue ranger wriggles on the ground, clutching his broken arm. Exos picks Chris up by his ankle and throws him at Alex. Both of them slam into each other and hit the truck, their suits vanishing into their respective colors. Alex was wincing in pain, trying to sit up and Chris was wriggling on the ground, letting out frequent cries of pain and holding his shoulder.

Exos holsters his gun and walks towards the de-morphed rangers. He stood still and shook his head. "Honestly," he said, his eyes narrowing at the four of them, " I expected more from "Earths greatest protectors". But you're pathetic. All of you! You don't even have to right to call yourselves Rangers." Suddenly, a booming voice came from above and a chill goes through the air. "EXOS! THAT'S ENOUGH!" the voice says, coming from above. A figure in a white robe floats down, standing in front of the four of them. Alistar. Exos lets out a cackle, adjusting his hat. "Well I'll be! If it isn't the traitor himself! Come to see me take your rangers, are you?" Alistar shakes his head and says, "No. I'm afraid my rangers are going nowhere but back to their headquarters." The bounty hunter pulls out his gun and spins it around his finger, smirking. "Is that so? And how exactly are you planning to get them out of here?" Alistar smirks and pulls something out of a pocket in his robe. A small gauntlet with a white star where the top of the hand would be. He smirked and said, "Just like this. It's high noon!" Alistar traced a star with his palm, a white line following his movements. He grabs one of the corners of the star and throws it. The star soars up into the air and then stop when it is over Alistar. Coming down over him, he is in a white jumpsuit with black diamonds going down his back. He had a white cape on and white cowboy boots with black markings. His helmet was a bit different. The cowboy hat had a black rim on the top and there was a star on the top. His visor came down to several jagged points, almost like icicles. Alistar struck a pose and said, "Wisdom of the Ranger! North Star Ranger!" Exos smirked and cracked his neck. "Oh. THIS should be fun." Alex weakly said, "Oh man… this is gonna be sweet! Get him Alistar!" The white ranger turned around and shook his head. "I'm afraid that you won't be seeing this fight. You are going back to base." Seth weakly stood up and said, "No way! We won't let you fight him alone!" Alistar waved his hand and a light shone on all four of them. The white ranger softly said, "I apologize. But I'm not giving you a choice." The bright light's glow intensified and intensified, blocking all vision from Seth's eyes. Once the glow subsided, Seth found himself in the beacon again. Looking left and then right, he saw the other three were also back at the beacon. He smiled and was about to say something, but he felt dizzy. His knees wobbled for a second before giving out from underneath him. He collapsed to the ground, feeling the cold floor on the side of his face. The world began to spin, until finally, everything went black.

 **End of Book One: "Red"**


	8. Delta Force: Blue

**Book Two: "Blue"**

Darkness. Darkness and pain. That's what Chris felt and saw. His mind began to wake up and his eyes suddenly fluttered open. As the light of the room around him came into focus, he kept scanning his surroundings. He was in a room with completely white walls, machines lining the interior. He was lying in a bed of some sort, the rhythmic beeping of a machine coming from his left. He felt a pain in his head and went to bring his hand up to his forehead. But as soon as he moved his right arm, a shooting pain ran from his hand up to his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and looked at the source of the pain. As he did, he saw that his shoulder and arm were completely wrapped up in bandages. _That's right. That bastard, Exos, broke my arm. Fantastic._ He leaned his head back and took steady breaths, looking at a chair right next to the bed he was in. On it was his shirt, his jacket, his wallet and… wait a second. His heart started beating faster and his left hand frantically searched his pocket. His Delta Morpher… It's gone! Chris quickly got up, pain shooting through his arm every time it made the slightest move. As he stood up, he looked at himself in a mirror across the room. There was a giant scar running down the center of his chest. He gently touched it, almost not believing it was real. _This is all Seth's fault. I'm going to kill him next time I see him._ He pushed the thoughts out of his head and he walks through the sliding white door. He came face to face with a curving hallway. The walls were the same white, the glare almost blinding. _So. They brought me back to the Beacon. Probably a good thing. Gonna be hard to explain this injury to a couple of clueless doctors._ He stumbles his way down the hallway, his legs still a bit wobbly. He makes his way to another room and sees Alex lying in a bed. The boy in green was asleep, his chest rising and falling calmly. Chris slides the door open and takes off one of his shoes. Throwing it at Alex, the shoe hit the sleeping boy right in the chest. Alex jumped up and screamed, falling out of the bed. Chris bluntly says, "Hey! Where did my Morpher go?" Alex pops up from behind the bed and says, "Dude! I have no clue! I was sleeping this whole time! I still have mine, see?" Alex reaches into his back pocket, but a look of nervousness comes over his face. He frantically pats his jeans, looking for his Morpher as well. Alex looks up at Chris and says, "M-my Morpher is missing too." Chris rolls his eyes when suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jerks his head to the side to see Stephanie, her face flushed with nervousness. "Guys! I can't find my Morpher!" Chris rolled his shoulder to shake her hand off and says, "Yah. Neither can we. We woke up and they were gone." Stephanie puts a hand to her chin and says, "Same with me… Where could they have gone? I remember having it when Alistar teleported us away. Wait! Maybe Alistar has them!" Chris looks from Stephanie to Alex, who was putting his glasses on. Alex shrugs, saying, "It IS a possibility. We should go to the main room of the Beacon." Chris nods and the three of them make their way down the hallway towards the center of the Beacon.

The sliding doors open and the three of them step in. The room was empty, except for two figures. Satchel and Wick, who never seem to be away from one another, were busy typing something into a computer. The computer had a wire leading directly to the center console, which was shining a bright, blue light. There, hovering within the blue light, was his Morpher. He could also see the red, green and pink Morpher. But then he noticed something strange. Upon further examination, he saw the YELLOW Morpher as well. He cocks his head, confused. Breaking the silence, he says, "Hold up. You got Lisa's Morpher too?" Satchel whips around and so does Wick. Wick, upon seeing them, flushes a bright red and turns back around to keep typing into the computer. Satchel stands up and walks towards the Center console, smiling. "Well. Good evening to you too! Yes, we got the Yellow Delta Morpher from Mrs. Pilkinton." Alex took a step forward and says, "You thief! How could you steal something from a girl who was almost killed!?" Satchel raises an eyebrow, confused. "Steal? No, no. We didn't steal the Morpher. She gave it to us." Stephanie speaks up, saying, "Gave it to you? I thought she didn't want any part of this." Chris was about to add something when a sound was heard behind him. Coming out of the sliding doors was two figures, laughing. One was a tall girl in a yellow tank top and the other was a boy in a black shirt with a red jacket. Chris stared at the boy in red, a fire burning inside of him. Seth looks at Chris and says, "Oh. Hey guys!"

Chris walks up to Seth, not saying a word. Bringing his left hand up, he curved it through the air, landing a left hook right across Seth's face. Seth went spiraling to the ground and Chris got on top of Seth. Punching the boy in red in the gut repeatedly, he was filled with nothing but rage. Lisa and Stephanie both tried to pull Chris off, but he shook the two girls off of him. As he kept punching, Stephanie yelled out "Chris! STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" However, Chris ignored her. He kept punching, blaming everything that happened to him on Seth. The scar, the broken arm… It was all because their "Leader" decided to be a hero. Chris was about to rear back and throw a final punch, but his muscles froze. He tried to force the final punch to connect, but he couldn't move, no matter what. A deep voice echoed through the room, saying, "Christopher! That is enough!" Chris was slowly forced to his feet and Seth scrambled away, holding his side. Breathing heavy, the boy in red stared at Chris, his lip bleeding. Chris was slowly turned around so that he was facing the source of the voice. Alistar, whose normal glow was dimmer than usual, was standing there, his eyes glowing a cloudy grey-blue. Alistar raised an eyebrow. "Mister Corso! We are all upset at what Seth has done. However! I will NOT tolerate any violence here, ESPECIALLY not between two rangers! You are supposed to be a team! If you are enemies, then you mind as well kiss this Earth goodbye now!" Chris said nothing, just stared at Alistar. Alistar took a deep breath and said, "Now. Can I let you go? Or will you go back to fighting?" Chris gave a small snarl before saying, "I've gotten my anger out. For now." Alistar shook his head and released his mental grip on Chris. The boy in blue crumpled to the floor. Alex and Stephanie walk over and help him up and he shakes both of them off. They both back away slowly, their hands up in the air. He shoots a look at Satchel, saying "You! What are you doing to my Morpher?"

Satchel, who had been staring as this all went down, cleared his throat. "Well. Alistar told us that you sort of got yourselves destroyed by Exos. Granted, you all had no real chance to begin with, Wick and I decided to give you a little… Upgrade." The boy in the silver vest presses a button on the console. A holographic image appeared above the center machine. It was a gun, rotating to give a 360 view. It looked like a traditional revolver. _Of course. Why wouldn't it be cowboy themed?_ The revolver was sleek, giving off a silver tint. A glow came from the area where the bullets were stored, giving a red glow. The barrel had a symbol on it. Two v-like lines and a downward pointing arrow. The same symbol they had seen so many times. He walked up to the console, surprisingly entranced. He gave a huge grin and said, "What... What IS this?" Wick, who had been silent this whole time slowly stands up and walks next to Satchel. "We cll them the Delta Blasters. They each hold six shots and can be reloaded three times. Once you use all of them, you will have to wait until your next morph to use the Blaster again." Seth speaks up from his spot on the floor, saying, "So, they will automatically show up when we morph? How did you manage to do that?" Satchel smirks and says, "Wick was able to change the Morphing Code. You see, your Morphers follow a specific alien code. Everything they can do is because of this code. There is a code for battle armor, there is a code for strength enhancement, so on and so forth. So, Wick figured out how this code works and can change it to add things to your arsenal when you Morph. Right now, we are working on melee weapons, but for now you have to settle for Delta Blasters." Lisa walks up to the console and watches as the gun rotates. She sighs and says, "Wow… That's really cool." Chris shoots a sideways look to Lisa and says, "And since when are YOU so interested in Ranger stuff. I thought you quit on us." Lisa turned around and leaned against the side of the console. "Well. I WAS going to quit on you. But then Exos attacked me and my family. He made it personal. And now, I want nothing more than to see that bastard erased from this planet." Chris rolls his eyes and says, "Pffft. Pathetic." With that, he grabbed his Delta Morpher and began to head back to grab his shirt. Stephanie stopped him as he passes by. "And where do you think you are going?" Chris looks her right in the eyes and says, "I'm going home, sweet cheeks. Now get out of my way." Stephanie, flustered by the name he called her, stepped out of the way. As he walked through the sliding doors, he called back, "Later losers!"

After he had grabbed his shirt and other belongings, he got on his bike and pedaled home. It was difficult to do with only one hand, but just like he did with other things in his life, he pressed through it. One he came to his home, he parked his bike in the driveway. He then took a moment to look upon the "Glory" that was his house. It wasn't even a house if he was being honest. He lived in a trailer with his mom, dad and older brother. As he was walking to the door, something hard flew through the air and hit him in the back of the head. His left hand came up and rubbed where the object had hit. Chris's older brother, Chuck, had just threw a small stone at him. "What's up, nerd? Where you been?" Chris shrugged his brothers comment off, saying "Don't worry about it." Chris ducked his head down and headed into the trailer. As soon as he did, the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol hit him like a brick wall. He coughed and waved his hand in front of his face. He closed the door and walked down the length of the trailer to his room. It wasn't even a real room. Instead, it was a bed with a dresser at the end. He threw his backpack on his bed and flopped down, covering his eyes with his forearm. He hated it here. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. "Hey boy! Where you been?" He knew this voice to be his father. And by the waver in the old man's voice, he knew his dad was drunk again. Chris just rolled onto his side and said, "Why do you care?" His dad took a few more steps closer and pointed a stern finger. "You getting' smart with me, boy?" Chris sits up and says, "Maybe! What if I am? You're just going to get drunk again and forget it!" Chris's father came into the room, grabbing the boys good arm and twisting it behind his back. Chris let out a cry of pain as his father yelled, "You watch your tone when you talk to me, you ungrateful brat! I would kick the living crap out of you if your mother wasn't such a damn sissy!" Chris struggled, but he was too weak from the Exos fight. He looked for his Delta Morpher, but he saw it under his jacket. Chris struggled some more, saying "Let me go!" His father kept his hold on Chris for a bit before releasing him. He gives a huff and stumbles towards the door. Once he gets to the entrance of Chris's room, he turns around. "You were a mistake, you know. Don't you ever forget that." Chris knew he didn't mean that. That was the alcohol talking, not his father. He simply buried his face in his pillow and waited until he heard his old man walk out the door and to his truck, driving off to the bar.

Chris pulled his head out of his pillow, feeling a flurry of emotions. He couldn't believe that his father would say things like that. He was angry, sad, frustrated, annoyed and scared at the same time. He got up to go to the bathroom, he needed to put some water on his face to cool down. He got up and walked towards the bathroom, turning the light on. His sink was a mess, his mother's electronics all over the place. One thing Chris DIDN'T notice, however, is that they were still plugged in. He turned on the sink and as he did, saw that water was pouring all over one of the cords. He turned the water off with his left hand and used his right one to reach for the mangled-up cord of his mother's curling iron. As soon as his hand touched the wire, however, a spark jumped out and sent Chris flying backwards. He hit some cabinets on the other side of the trailer, his head spinning and his vision blurry from the shock he just received. He went to rub his eyes and forehead when he realized something. The hand he was rubbing his face with… it was his right hand. The one that had gotten broken… it didn't hurt anymore. He studied his hand, moving his fingers and making a fist. He felt regenerated, brand new. If his mind wasn't already spinning from getting shocked, he could swear that he actually felt STRONGER than before. But he pushed that idea to the side. Chris stood up and threw a couple of punches with his right arm. To his amazement, he was actually punching faster than normal. He stared at his hand in delight, smiling ear to ear. He needed to tell the others about this! He grabbed his shoes, his wallet and his Morpher and went out the door of his trailer. As he did, his brother said, "Hey stupid! Think fast!" The older boy threw another rock straight at Chris's head. Chris simply put his hand up, catching the rock inches from his face. His brother stared at Chris in amazement, his mouth open. Chris reared back and threw the rock back at Chuck. The boy tried to catch the rock, and he succeeded! But as soon as he did, he let out a cry of pain, clutching his hand which had gotten injured from Chris's throw. The boy in blue didn't say anything. He just smirked and got on his bike. He headed towards the beacon, excited to tell the others his news.

On his way there, he passed a quiet park. This was Spencer Park and it was always full of happy people either jogging, biking or taking their dogs for a walk. He smiled as he saw the people in the park. But out of nowhere, an echoing boom sounded from the center of the park. The source of this noise was a gigantic lightning bolt that had struck the ground. Chris looked up to the sky to see a completely clear day, not a cloud to be seen. He made his bike come to a skidding halt. Hopping off of it, he ran towards the source of the boom. As he came over a hill, he saw a sight that made his heart drop. Standing there was a creature unlike anything he had ever seen. The creature was humanoid and it looked like a female. She wore leather chaps and had a striped vest on. Her skin was a pale purple and she wore a black cowboy hat. She had a dark purple bandanna with the symbol of the Intergalactic Council. In her hands were two red whips, each one about five feet long. She smiled and reared back a hand. The whip snaked through the air before being sent towards a tree trunk. Once the whip made contact, the tree exploded into a cloud of flying splinters and wooden shrapnel. She let out a maniacal laugh, saying in a witch-like voice, "oh, Blue Raaaangerrrr. Come out to playyyy. I know you're here! Don't be shy!" Chris's heart started beating. He knew what he had to do, but he was probably going to need help. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Alex. "Hey. Get to Spencer Park. Ranger emergency!" He then put his phone back in his pocket and slid down the hill. The woman with the whips turned around to face Chris. She gave a wicked grin and said, "Awww, how cute. And who might YOU be?" Chris smiled and pulled out his Delta Morpher. With a smirk, he says, "I'm the one you're looking for, you crazy old hag." The villain blinks a few times, estranged that someone would call her that. She got an angry look on her face and began to twiddle her whips around. "And who exactly do you think you are," the villainess asked. Chris smiled and said, "I am the Delta Force Blue Ranger! And if you have any sense of self preservation, you will lay your weapons down right now and crawl back to whatever dark hole you came out of!"


	9. Delta Force: Milano

The villainess's lips curved into a smirk and her eyes narrowed. Chris, now closer to the female villain, got a better look at her. She was slender, her figure reminding Chris of something he'd see in a Sports Illustrated magazine. Her long, black hair came down past her waist and her bangs hung down from the brim of her cowboy hat. She twirled the whips in her hand and began circling. Chris circled as well, the two of them staring each other down. As she walks, she asks "What's your name, Blue? Is it "Hopelessly Captured"?" The villainess laughed at her own bad joke. Chris smirked and said, "It's Chris. Lemme guess. Yours is "Chains and Whips excite me?" The villainess narrowed her eyes and said, "You've got guts, Blue. My name is Milano. I am one of Exos's seven bandits and I'm here to pick you up. The intergalactic council wants to have a word with you and your team." Chris shakes his head and says, "Man. You alien freaks can't take a hint, can you? We don't want to talk with your stupid council. They're murderers, and we DON'T affiliate with murderer's." She smiles and slashes the ground with one of her whips in one, quick movement. "You're cute when you get defensive." Chris reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his Delta Morpher. His blue eyes fix on Milano, saying, "Well then. Guess it's time I go offensive! It's High Noon!" Chris splits the two cylinders of his Delta Morpher apart and draws his circle in the air. The blue numbers appear around the circle, going all the way up to twelve. He steps through the circle and his blue jumpsuit and cowboy boots materialize on his body. The circle came up and around his face, forming his mask and cowboy hat. Chris flexes his muscles before punching the ground. Striking a pose with his hands on his sides like he's holding his belt, he says, "Strength of a Ranger! Delta Force, Blue!" Chris smiled under his mask, looking at Milano. However, he noticed something different on his costume. Around his waist was a belt, the color dark blue just like his hat and boots. At his side was a holster, strapped to his belt. Inside the holster was a revolver-like gun. It was the Delta Blaster that Satchel and Wick were telling them about. Chris looks at it and gets a feel for it in his hand.

Milano cackled, drawing Chris's attention to her. "Well, look at you! I will say, Blue really IS your color!" Chris smiled and said, "Oh really? I bet it looks great on you too! Here, as a matter of fact, try some blue!" Chris aims the gun at Milano, pulling the trigger three times. Three blue laser beams shot out of the barrel, zooming towards the villainess. She smirked and brought one whip in a diagonal pattern down her body, blocking the first shot. She did the same with the other whip, blocking the second shot. She jumped in the air and spun around, dodging the third shot. As she spun around, she lashed out with one of her whips. The whip shot through the air, wrapping around Chris's ankle. Once Milano landed, she gave the whip a good pull. Chris's feet were taken out from underneath him, sending him thudding to the ground. When he did, he lost grip of his Delta Blaster. Milano started pulling the blue ranger towards her, a wicked smile on her face. Chris scrambled to try and get his Blaster, but he was pulled away too quickly. The villainess shot her other whip towards him and this one wrapped around his neck. She smiled and said, "This is about to get a bit… SHOCKING!" Letting out a cackle, her eyes flashed a bright purple. She flicked the handle of the whip, sparks going down the length of the weapon to Chris's body. The electricity made his muscles spasm for only a split second before doing something remarkable. As the sparks floated across his body, his muscles started pumping. Energy filled his body and he could feel his body getting stronger and stronger. He slowly stood up, the electricity doing nothing but making him more powerful.

Milano's eyes widened as Chris stood up. Chris smirks under his helmet, knowing that this battle was his. He lifted a leg and brought it down on the whip around his ankle. This motion yanked Milano forward. The other one that was around his neck, he grabbed with his hand. Wrapping it around his wrist, he pulled her forward. The villainess struggled, but the electricity had only made Chris stronger. Chris, who now had the majority of the whip in his hand, began spinning in a circle. Milano, trying to keep the whip in her grasp, started spinning with Chris. Chris gained speed, causing the Bandit to lose her footing. He spun and spun until finally he released the whip. Once he let go, Milano went flying through the air, leaving her whips behind. Chris was about to rip the weapons from his neck and ankle, but the whips both seemed to come alive. They uncoiled around Chris's body and snaked their way back to Milano. She stood up, wincing in pain, the whips coiled around her arms and she stared Chris down with a piercing gaze. "Alright, punk! I don't care how cute you are! I'm going to murder you!" Chris was about to say a smart comment back, but then he heard a voice come from behind him. "What? Chris isn't the cute one! I am!" Chris turns around and looks up the hill, seeing four figures. Milano lets out a frustrated grunt, saying "Oh great. And who are YOU?!" The boy in red, followed by the girl in yellow, the boy in green and the girl in pink, steps next to Chris. "I'M the cute one. But you can call me the Delta Force Red Ranger!" Chris rolls his eyes and takes a step forward. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have this covered." Alex put a hand on Chris's shoulder. The boy in the glasses says, "Well, you DID text me. You wanted help, so here is your team." Chris turns and points at Seth. "I will NOT be on a team that HE is on. It's not worth the injuries caused by his poor judgement." Stephanie walks up to Chris, a soft look in her eyes. The same soft look she always gave Chris… The same one that always seemed to calm him down. "Listen. Alistar was right. You can hate him all you want. But as long as you are Rangers, you can't be fighting." Seth walks up and says, "Not only that, but I'm the leader of the Rangers. Alistar told me himself." Chris taps Seth on the chest in a threatening manner. "Oh yah? And who was there to see that? Not me. Not Alex or Stephanie. Lisa had already quit. So how am I supposed to believe you?" Alex, who was standing next to Chris, taps the blue ranger on the shoulder. "Uhh, Chris?" Chris turns to Alex and says, "Not now." Seth grabs Chris by the wrist and throws his hand off of his chest. "You have no authority to challenge my title!" Chris gets eyes to eye with Seth, saying "You have no authority over me!" Alex shakes Chris's shoulder, saying "Chris. You ought to see this." Chris shrugged off Alex's touch, saying "Just shut up for a second." Seth narrows his eyes and says, "Demorph, now. THAT is an order." The blue ranger lets out a scoff and says, "Oh, right. And who's going to make me. You?" Alex finally yells out, "GUYS, SHE'S GONE!" Chris whips his head around, to see that Milano had vanished.

Chris's heart began to beat, his blue suit vanishing in a bright blue flash. He looks down, his anger building. Stephanie takes a step forward, holding out a hand. "Chris… It's okay. We'll find her." Chris's head snaps to his side, shooting a gaze at Seth. He points out a rigid finger, a snarl in his voice. "You're going to get us all killed. Not only did you almost get us murdered by Exos, but now one of his henchmen is on the loose. You don't deserve the title of red ranger! You don't even deserve to be a Ranger!" Seth opened his mouth to say something, but Chris cut him off. "No. Shut up. Listen up, punk. Cross me again and It'll be the last thing you do." Chris raises a foot and slams it on the ground, bounding into the air and out of the sight of the other rangers.

Once he landed, he found himself in the middle of the forest that lead to the Beacon. He walked back and forth, huffing with anger. "Stupid Seth. Going to get the only friends I ever had killed. I'll kill him if he does. He doesn't deserve to be leader. I do! Why was I stuck with blue?" Chris pulls out his Morpher and looks at it, holding it out in front of him. He hated the fact that it wasn't red. Why did it have to be blue? He didn't even want to see it. He rears back and throws the blue object into the woods. It flew through the air and landed in a bush somewhere. With an angry huff, he plopped himself down on a rock, his head in his hands. He sat there for a few minutes in silence, the only sound being the chirping of the birds. Suddenly, he felt something tap against his hand. Moving his head up, his heart began beating faster once he saw his Morpher. It was floating in the air, inches from his face. Chris tilts his head and reaches out to touch it. Once he did, his mind went into a rush. Once his head cleared, he was sitting in a completely white area. Out of the blankness, a man in a white robe appeared. Alistar. He smiles and says, "Hello Chris. Glad you could make it." Chris scrambled backwards, looking left and right. "What? Where? Where the hell am I," the boy in blue asks, looking left and right frantically. Alistar holds up two hands, motioning at Chris in a calming manner, saying "Woah, woah. Calm down Chris. You are in the confines of your mind. I just felt a disturbance in the Morphing Grid and decided to check it out. Apparently, that disturbance is you." Chris rolls his eyes. "Of course! This is MY fault. Not Seth's. Perfect." Alistar puts a hand to his chin, thinking about something. "Ah. So THAT'S what this is about, is it? You are questioning the leadership qualities of the Red Ranger." Chris stands up, pointing a finger at Alistar. "You're damn right I am! Not only did he almost get us all killed by Exos, but he let one of his Bandits get away! I had her right where I wanted her, but he intervened and screwed it up for me!" Alistar nods in understanding, saying "Ah yes. He has made many mistakes." Chris throws his hands up in the air, continuing his rant. "And not only that, but the other three actually FOLLOW the screw-up! What? They can't see that he's nothing but a danger to the team?!" Alistar smirks and says, "Ah yes. I understand. And you think that YOU could do better as the leader of the Ranger's?" Chris leans in and sternly says, "Oh. I KNOW I could do better. The morphing grid should have picked the best ranger to be red!" Alistar folds his arms and raises an eyebrow. "You think it didn't?" Chris begins pacing back and forth. "Well, SETH sure as hell isn't the best choice. Stephanie is too nice, Lisa quits too easy and Alex couldn't hold his own against Wick! So, it's obvious that I am the best choice." Alistar simply shakes his head, letting out a sigh. Chris looks over to his mentor, an eyebrow raised. "What? You think I'm wrong?" Alistar puts a hand to his forehead, rubbing it in frustration. "Christopher. Do you even HEAR yourself? I didn't see it before, but now I know exactly why the Grid picked you to be the Blue Ranger." Chris lets out a scoff before saying, "Oh please. Enlighten me, "Mentor". I'm ecstatic to hear your big revelation." Alistar removes the hand from his forehead, motioning to Chris. "You're a loaded gun, Christopher! You are a loaded gun with an un-hitched trigger. Yes, you are correct when it comes to the other Rangers, INCLUDING Seth. But you are no better yourself! Your temper, your uncontrollable anger, will explode on anyone you see! Yes, this may be good in a fight against an enemy. But for god's sake, you attacked one of your own teammates today! As far as the other rangers know, you are more dangerous than Exos! At least they KNOW they can't trust HIM. But you have their trust. You're part of their team! You need to learn your place… Before something goes wrong." Chris was furious at this. However, something came over him. It was a feeling that balled up in his throat, making his heart ache. Guilt. His knees began to slowly get weaker, everything he's done to the rangers coming back through his mind. He fell to his knees, a tear running down his cheek. "Y… You're right. I'm a horrible Ranger." Alistar walked up and got on one knee, putting a hand on the blue ranger's shoulder. "No Chris. You are a great ranger. You're just learning. And do you know who else is still learning?" Chris's eyes open wide, watery upon this realization. "Seth…" Alistar nods his head. "Exactly. He's made mistakes, but so have you. So has Alex, Lisa and Stephanie. You are all still learning and it will be a while until you all become legendary rangers. Keep that in mind, Chris." Chris's mind began to rush again, sending him back to reality. As he sat there on the rock, the real world coming into focus, he took a deep breath. Running his hands through his hair, he says, "What have I done?"

Chris made his way home, Alistar's words echoing through his head. His dad was off at the bar again and his mom was gone too. She was probably working late tonight. Chris walked into his trailer, his brother already asleep. He looked at the time. _11:00? How long did Alistar have me under?_ He decided that he needed some rest. He had school tomorrow and he knew that if he didn't get at least semi-decent grades, he would end up like his dad. As he got ready for bed, his phone buzzed with a news update. He read the article which talked about a robbery at the Belvidere Science laboratory. About fifty milligrams of something called… "Isopropyl". It said that, according to a scientists account, the assailant "Showed up with two whips and destroyed everything, only taking the aforementioned compound". One word ran through his mind as he read that. _Milano._ He knew that he needed to find her, no matter the cost. Until then, he couldn't rest. He hopped up out of bed, no longer fearing the lack of sleep. He grabbed his Delta Morpher and ran out of his trailer. As the moon shone on the town of Belvidere, the Blue Ranger was on a mission to finish things before they begin.


	10. Delta Force: The Real Enemy (Part one)

The night was calm and the air was crisp. Only the street lights lit up the inky blackness of the evening. One or two cars lit went up and down the street, but other than that, the town of Belvidere was quiet. Chris was standing on top of a building, looking down over the sleeping city. His vision was not blurred by the visor of his mask OR the brim of his cowboy hat. He ran a finger along the edge of his belt, moving to the holster of his costume. Running up the curve of his weapons handle, he gripped the cool wood of the weapons grip. His eyes narrowed and searched the streets below for any sign of Milano. He didn't know much about what he was getting himself into. But he DID know one thing, and that was Milano was his. He wanted to take her down alone, no help needed or wanted. So, that's what brought him here. Right across from the building he was in was the Belvidere Laboratory. He fixated his eyes on the roof, spotting a hole in the top. Without hesitation, Chris bent his knees and suddenly extended them. Taking a leap off of the building he was on, he soared through the air towards the hole in the laboratory ceiling. When he landed, his fist slammed against the floor, sending a shockwave throughout the facility. The entire second floor of the lab was dark and eerie, the walls scorched with burn marks. His head turned and he stood up from his landing position. His eyes fixed upon a pillar and he walked towards it. Placing a hand on the pillar, he outlined three deep gash marks in the concrete. _Milano's Whips… So I was right._ He looks around the facility, staring at the machines that were sliced in half by Milano's assault. A mixture of fear, awe and anger swirled around his heart, sending unsettling pulses with each beat.

Suddenly, he heard a sound. It started soft, really soft, but then it got louder. It sounded like a whirring sound cutting through the air. His eyes widen and he does a backflip without a single pause. As he flips backwards, his eyes catch sight of a red whip cracking inches from his facemask. He flips through the air and lands on his feet, skidding backwards. He head shoots up and he sees her. Laughing wickedly and he high-heels clicking against the concrete floor, Milano steps out of the shadows. Twirling her whips in her hands, she says, "Lookie, lookie what i caught. A scared little Ranger who's lost his way." Chris stands up, taking out his Delta Blaster. Spinning it around his finger a few times before aiming it at her, he says, "Enough chit-chat, Milano. What do you need that Isopropyl for?" Milano put her hand on her hip and popped her hip to the side, laughing. "Oh Blue… That's for me to know and you to find out." Chris snarled and said, "Or maybe I'll just beat it out of you!" He aimed his gun and fired one shot. Milano laughed and said, "Oh Blue! You just didn't learn from last time!" She spun a whip around and blocked the shot with ease. But he DID learn from last time. As soon as he fired the shot, he took off, running right at her. Sliding on the ground to get on the right side of her, he aimed his gun and took two shots. Both shots hit the right side of Milano's body, sending her reeling back in pain. Chris kept sliding across the floor before spinning and getting back on his feet. He smirked and said, "Maybe you're just getting too slow, ya old hag!" Milano, recovering from the attack, let out a disgusted sound. "Old! How dare you call someone as radiant as me… OLD! I'll kill you, kid!" She lashed out with both her whips, one going high and the other going low. Chris jumped to the side, rolling out of the way of the two weapons. The whips collided with each other sending a shockwave through the air. Once Chris rolled out of the way, he fired two more shots from his blaster. These two shots were aimed at her whips, trying to damage the weapon in any way possible. However, the weapons just deflected the blasts, sending them shooting off in opposite direction. The two blasts hit two glass canisters, shattering the casing. Once the glass broke, large amounts of smoke came pouring out. The smoke filled the room, clouding Chris's vision. He looked around for Milano, but the villainess was nowhere to be seen. The room was quiet, deathly quiet. His head darted back and forth, not knowing where the whip-wielding Bandit had gone.

Suddenly, he felt it. Something coiling around his leg, all the way up to his knee. He looked down to see the length of a red whip spiraling up his leg. He had just enough time to gasp before he was yanked to the floor. He started sliding across the floor of the factory, being pulled by the whip around his leg. His heart raced a mile a minute, his hands trying to rip the whip off of his leg. Through the smoke, he could only see a soft light. He realized what it was, but he realized it too late. As the speed of him being dragged increased, the sound of breaking glass was followed by him being dragged out of a window. Not having any traction, Chris swung downwards by his leg. As he did, he had the chance to look up. Milano was jumping through the air, the whip that was around his leg in her hand. She gracefully and effortlessly landed on a neighboring rooftop, pulling the whip up with her. He hit the side of the building, getting dragged against the rough surface of the bricks. As he got pulled up and over the edge of the building, he was in the air for a few seconds. Taking advantage of this, he aimed his blaster at Milano. Firing two shots, he aimed one at the whip around his leg and the other one at Milano. Once the shot hit the whip, the weapon made a hissing sound. Uncoiling from his leg, it retracted as if it were in pain. Chris, landing on the rooftop rolled just in time to watch his shot hit the villainess in the back of the head. The blast hits Milano and she gets taken off her feet, landing on her front and skidding against the concrete. Chris stands up and spins the revolver around in his hand. Milano groaned and slowly tried to get up, but collapsing in weakness. Chris began walking towards her, the revolver still spinning in his hand. "Well, well, well. Look's like you messed with the wrong ranger! So! Lemme do this the right way!" He gets to the weakened Milano's side, flipping her over with his foot so that she was on her back. He aimed the revolver at her forehead and said, "Milano! Bandit of Exos. You have been found guilty of assaulting a Ranger. You will now be taken to Alistar for questioning and judgement. Do you comply?" Milano snarled up at Chris and he smiled. "I was hoping you would say that. Now I can put you down like the no-good criminal you are. Goodnight, Milano!" Chris cocks his gun when he a voice calls out.

"CHRIS! THAT'S ENOUGH!" the voice said. His gun not moving an inch, he cranes his head both slowly and angrily. Across the gap from the laboratory and the building stood a figure. He was clad all in red and wore dark red cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. At his side was a shaded-red blaster sitting in a dark red holster. Chris felt his heart drop when he saw the Red Ranger jump the gap and land on the same rooftop he was on. Chris felt his blood start to boil, saying, "Why are you here?" The Red Ranger holds out his arms, shaking his head. "I was walking along the street when I hear a commotion coming from the factory. Chris, what were you thinking? Going out alone without you're team?" Chris scoffed and held his head up. "Oh? You mean the same thing you did when you fought Exos alone and we came in to save you?" Seth took a few steps forward and says, "That was different Chris and you know it!" The blue ranger flatly replies, "Do I? Cuz to me, it just sounds like a failed leader trying to dig himself out of a hole!" Seth takes a few more steps forward and bluntly says, "Chris, holster your weapon… now." Chris squints under his mask, saying "I'd like to see you make me." At those words, thunder cracked across the sky. Seth and Chris stared at each other, rain drops slowly starting to fall. Milano, taking her opportunity as Chris was focused on Seth,lifted up a leg and kicked the blue ranger in the chest. Chris, taken by surprise, stumbled and fell into Seth. Scrambling to her feet, Milano ran for the edge of the rooftop. Chris, scrambling to his feet, aimed his blaster at Milano. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. However, his empty gun just clicked, out of shots. He tried to reload, but by the time his weapon was armed again, Milano was out of sight.

Chris ran to the edge of the rooftop, looking frantically left and right, trying to find Milano. But, to his dismay… she was gone. He gripped the handle of his gun. Through gritted teeth and seething with anger, Chris says, "She got away…" Seth gets to his feet, saying "Because you let your guard down. You were so focused on being angry at me, you forgot the real mission." Chris slowly turns his head. "you… You actually have the gall… to call this MY fault?" Seth nodded his head and says, "Yes. We'll just call this a lesson learned and head back to base. There, we can formulate a plan to get Milano back into our custody." Chris stood in silence, the only sound between them being the pouring rain. Chris slowly turned around, facing Seth. The only feeling he thought right now was rage. The image of him shooting Seth right now kept replaying in his mind. When he imagined it, it was so easy, so effortless. He could do it without hesitation right now. But he didn't. That would be too easy. "I'm not going anywhere. Not with you." Is all he said, staring the Red Ranger down. Seth turned to face Chris, returning the stare. "De-morph.. Now!" Chris snarls and says, "Once again. I'd like to see you make me." Silence between them once again. They just stared right at each other, each one shooting daggers at each other. The rain pours and lightning cracks across the sky. A boom of thunder reverberates across the town as the two of them silently challenge each other. Seth shakes his head and says, "Chris… Don't do this." Chris squints his piercing eyes, giving his head a small shake. "I'm done taking orders from you."


	11. Delta Force: The Real Enemy (Part two)

Both of them stare each other down. Seth pulls out his Delta Blaster and aims it at Chris. "Chris. This is your last chance. Lay you're weapon down and come with me." His words were slow and threatening. The voice of someone who had exhausted all other options. Chris narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger on his weapon. A bang rang throughout the air, sending a blue shot zooming towards Seth. The Red Ranger pulled his trigger as well, shooting his gun off. The two bullets raced towards each other, colliding mid-air. Both boys see this and are shocked for only a split second. Chris snarled and started firing. He fired shot after shot, spinning and flipping to get different angles. Seth was just as skilled as Chris. The Red Ranger jumped and spun through the flurry of bullets, dodging every shot. When it came to the final shot of Chris's attack, he held out his Blaster and fired a shot right at the blue blast. Both shots collided and bounced off each other, going in separated directions. Chris, upon seeing that they matched each other shot-for-shot, threw his gun on the ground. Putting up his fist, he dashed towards Seth. Seth fired a few shots at Chris, but the Blue Ranger rolled on the ground, causing all the shots to soar overhead. Using the momentum of his roll, he spun and jumped back on his feet, racing towards Seth at the same speed. Jumping in the air, he brought a closed fist down towards Seth. Seth threw his blaster on the ground and held his forearm up, blocking the attack. Chris, however, did not slow down his assault. Driving Seth backwards, he let loose punch after punch. Seth kept blocking each blow, quickly and strategically making it look effortless. Chris threw a punch and Seth took advantage of it. Grabbing the Blue Ranger's wrist, Seth brought a foot up to kick Chris square in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Chris re-gained his footing just in time to block another kick sent in by the Red ranger. However, Seth had come with more than a kick. Once his first kick was blocked, Seth quickly switched legs mi-air, sending his other foot racing towards Chris. Thinking fast, he ducked under the kick, getting on the other side of Seth. Chris came in for a back fist and Seth had the same idea. Their two forearms collided, each boy pushing against the other. The two of them struggled, letting out straining grunts.

"Give up! You can't win!" Seth said, pushing harder against Chris's arm. The boy in blue pushed back with more force. "Never," He hissed, starting to over-power the Red Ranger. Chris, pushing farther down on Seth, started winning, his strength increasing with each passing moment. Seth's eyes began to dart back and forth, looking for an escape route as he tried his best to push back against Chris. Seeing that, because of his pushing, Chris was getting off-balance, he got an idea. Bringing his knee to Chris's abs, Seth rocked onto his back. Grabbing Chris's wrist and rolling, using the knee for leverage, he flipped the blue ranger up and over himself. Chris flew through the air for a second before skidding on the rooftop. He skidded across until he hit a metal chimney. Seth stood up and held out his hand. "Power of Red! Come to me!" Chris looked up at Seth, his eyes widening in amazement. Seth's hand began to glow red and an object started to form. First it formed a handle, then it came down to a long, curved blade. The object now in Seth's hand blinked red a few times before glowling brightly. The glow lasted a few seconds before dimming, revealing the object in Seth's hand. It was a bowie knife, the edge of the blade colored a red. Seth spun it in his hand, looking at Chris. The blue ranger slowly stood up, pointing at the knife. "H-how did you?" Seth tilted his head and said, "A little trick I picked up while training. While we were together, AS A TEAM! Chris, this fighting is nonsense! There's no sense in beating each other senseless. We're supposed to be a team!" Chris slammed his fist on the ground and yelled at Seth. "FOR THE LAST TIME! I WILL NEVER BE ON A TEAM WITH YOU!" Chris felt a surge of power course through his veins and he rushed at Seth. The red ranger rushed at Chris as well, his knife blade wet from the pouring rain. Seth reared back and slashed at Chris. Chris ducked underneath the blade, hitting Seth's legs. This caused the red ranger to lose his balance and tumble forward. However, he rolled and was back on his feet in one swift movement. Chris and Seth both turned around at the same time and ran back towards each other. Seth came at Chris with stabbing and slicing motions. Chris ducked and weaved with each slash, trying to get a good shot in at Seth. Seth decided to throw in an extra move and it worked. He jumped in the air and spun around. Sending a kick at Chris, the bottom of his heel made contact with the Blue Rangers chest, sending him skidding back on his feet. Chris's head popped up just in time to see Seth jumping through the air. His knife blade was sticking out, aiming to come down over Chris. Bracing for impact, Chris crossed his arms in an "X" formation, protecting himself as best he could.

When the knife reached Chris's arms, it was met with a "Clink" sound. A bright blue flash had started to dim and two objects were in Chris's hands and along his arms. Chris opened his eyes and got a short look at the objects. Two blue blades ran up his arm all the way to his hand. A blue handle was in his hand and another, smaller blade was jutting out from the end. _So, these are my weapons? Bladed Tonfa's? Sweet!_ Chris shot a look at Seth before bending his knees. Lifting up with his arms, he threw the Red Ranger off of him. Seth recoiled back, but was right back on his feet. Chris smirked and said, "Well. I guess now the fight is even." Seth squints under his mask and says, "It was never even." Chris smirked, saying smugly, "I know. I had you beat from minute one." With that, the two boys rushed at each other once again. Chris, upon getting into close quarters with Seth, spun around in the air. Bringing the bladed part of his weapon in a diagonal sweep, He aimed them right at Seth's chest. Seth held up his knife, blocking the two blades. Chris pulled back only to come at Seth again, slicing in an "X" shape. Seth ducked out of the way and got behind Chris, kicking him in the back. Chris stumbled forward and Seth ran towards the Blue Ranger. Expecting this, Chris simply spun around and landed a kick right across the side of Seth's face, sending crumpling to the ground. Seth got up slower than usual, but Chris was already upon him. Putting his foot on Seth's side, he pushed the Red Ranger to the ground. Chris snarled and jumped into the air. His twin Tonfa's were crossed in an "X", the blades aiming to come right down on Seth. The Red Ranger held up his knife and the two weapons collided. Chris used gravity to push down on Seth, but the Red Ranger was fighting back hard. Gritting his teeth, Seth put a hand up to the back of his blade, pushing back. Chris kept trying to push down on Seth, but the Red Ranger was fighting back too hard. The two of them struggled back and forth, one trying to overpower the other one. Chris knew he needed a new strategy. So, he began to press downward with the Tonfas, letting each blade get on either side of the knife. Chris gathered all of his strength and in one quick movement, twisted his Tonfa Blades like a pair of scissors. The pressure of the Tonfa's mixed with the strength of the Blue Ranger was too much for the Knife. A clanging sound was heard on the concrete, the knife blade snapped in half. Chris pulled his weapons away and stood over Seth. A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and thunder roared as Seth looked at his broken weapon. He looks up at Chris, sadness in his voice. "Chris… Why did you?" Chris cut him off with a snarling reply. "Go to hell!" With those words, Chris hooked a fist around and it connected with the side of the Red Ranger's helmet. As soon as it did, the Red Ranger's hands fell to his side and his head went limp. Knocked out cold. Chris got off the Red Ranger as the suit dissipated, turning into red sparks that floated into the air. Seth lay there on the ground unconscious. Alive, but unconscious. Chris's suit began to glow a blue before dissipating into blue sparks. He crumpled to the ground, his body beaten and bruised from the fight.

He looked over at the unconscious boy, taking deep breaths as he admired his handy work. Maybe when Seth wakes up, he'd have learned a thing or two. Chris sat there in silence, letting the rain wash over his head. And he would have heard it too, the clinking sound of the round object rolling towards him, if it wasn't for the sound of the rain. But he didn't realize what it was until it hit his foot. He looked down, his sapphire eyes focusing on the round object. It was only when he realized it was a grenade that he scrambled to his feet and dove for cover. The explosive burst open, releasing a thick smog of some kind. He held his forearm up to his mouth and stood up. As he breathed, he began to feel dizzy. He stumbled his way over to where Seth was laying. However, through the smoke, he saw another shadow next to Seth's shadow. The shadow was slender, having a feminine figure. The shadow bent down and picked up Seth, jumping off the building and out of sight. Chris's heart began beating and he tried to run after the figure that had taken Seth. "No…" Chris said weakly, collapsing to the ground. As he breathed in and out, it became harder and harder for him to keep his grip on reality. Soon, his whole world spun into deep, eerie blackness.


End file.
